North Carolina
Notre Dame
Notre Dame's Straight Set Wins Knock Off Tar Heels
January 29, 2005 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2005
NOTRE DAME, IND. - Notre Dame earned three straight set singles victories Saturday afternoon after claiming the doubles point, leading the No. 34 Fighting Irish to an upset of the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels at Eck Tennis Pavilion in men's tennis action. UNC dropped its first match of the season and stands at 2-1 while Notre Dame is unbeaten at 5-0.
UNC earned its only two points of the match at No. 1 singles and No. 5 singles where juniors Raian Luchici and Derek Porter were triumphant. Luchici, ranked No. 66 in the nation, scored an impressive win over 78th-ranked Stephen Bass 6-4, 6-1 while Porter rallied to beat Irackli Akhvlediani at the No. 5 flight by a 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 score.
But on this day that was not enough to bring Carolina a victory as it played a tough foe on the road. The Fighting Irish gained an early advantage by winning two of three doubles matches and claiming the the team point in doubles with an 8-6 victory at No. 3. The Fighting Irish then snared straight set wins at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 singles to earn the required points for victory. Barry King of the Irish beat UNC senior Geoff Boyd at No. 3 for the clinching point 6-4, 7-6.
UNC's Brad Pomeroy almost earned a third point in the team score for Carolina but he fell in a close three-set match to Brent D'Amico at No. 2 by a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 score.
North Carolina will look to bounce back into the win column on Sunday when the Tar Heels meet Northwestern, No. 40 nationally, in another Midwestern road matchup. Match time is 1 p.m. C.S.T. in Evanston, Ill.
#34 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5, #18 North Carolina Tar Heels 2
Singles
No. 1: #66 Raian Luchici (UNC) def. #78 Stephen Bass (ND) 6-4, 6-1
No. 2: Brent D'Amico (ND) def. Brad Pomeroy (UNC) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
No. 3: *#112 Barry King (ND) def. Geoff Boyd (UNC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-0)
No. 4: Sheeva Parbhu (ND) def. Benjamin Carlotti (UNC) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5: Derek Porter (UNC) def. Irackli Akhvlediani (ND) 1-6, 6-4, 7-5
No. 6: Patrick Buchanan (ND) def. David Stone (UNC) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 4, 3*, 2, 5
Doubles
No. 1: #9 Boyd/Pomeroy (UNC) def. D'Amico/Ryan Keckley (ND) 9-8 (7-5)
No. 2: Eric Langenkamp/Parbhu (ND) def. Jonathan Janda/Porter (UNC) 8-3
No. 3: *S. Bass/King (ND) def. Luchici/Stone (UNC) 8-6
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1
Team Records: Notre Dame 5-0, North Carolina 2-1
Players Mentioned
