North Carolina
Duke
UNC Falls To Duke In Men's Tennis
April 13, 2005 | Men's Tennis
April 13, 2005
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Despite solid play from the 44th-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team, Duke's talent was too much for the Tar Heels to overcome, as they fell to the Blue Devils 7-0 Wednesday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Fifth-ranked Duke, who has only lost to No. 1 Baylor, No. 3 Virginia and No. 5 Illinois, improves to 17-3 overall on the season and 7-1 in the ACC. The Tar Heels fall to 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the ACC.
Today's match was the final regular-reason home appearance for seniors Geoff Boyd and Jonathan Janda. The Tar Heels are now 11-3 in matches played at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
Duke was able to get the lead early in the match at 1-0 by grabbing the doubles point. 43rd-ranked Ludovic Walter and Jason Zimmerman combined to edge out 41st-ranked Geoff Boyd and Brad Pomeroy, 9-8(4) at the No. 1 doubles spot. Duke continued to dominate in doubles, as Jonathan Stokke and Charles Brezac downed Raian Luchici and Jonathan Janda by a score of 8-2, and Stephen Armitraj and Peter Shults beat Sebastian Guejman and Ali Mandour 8-4, at the No. 2 and 3 spots respectively.
For the third straight time, the Tar Heels were swept in the doubles matches. It also happened in UNC's losses to Wake Forest and Virginia. Ironically, UNC has been swept in doubles only three times this season and in each, it was an obstacle Carolina was unable to overcome.
The only victory from the Tar Heels today came at the No. 3 singles spot, as senior Geoff Boyd was able to win one set against his opponent. After losing 6-2 in the first set, Boyd rallied back to win the second one 6-3. But he was unable to capitalize on the momentum and fell in the third set, 7-5.
At No. 6 singles, Duke's Peter Shults defeated Sebastian Guejman 6-0, 6-1. Duke then was able to score its third point of the match when Charles Brezac won over UNC's Jonathan Janda by a score of 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot. Shults and Brezac are the only two players in Duke's line-up that are not nationally ranked in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
The Blue Devils further extended their lead at the No. 1 spot, as Ludovic Walter, ranked third in the nation, defeated 80th-ranked Raian Luchici, 6-4, 6-0.
Near the end of the match, UNC's Brad Pomeroy and Derek Porter demonstrated their resolve to keep fighting but fell short. Pomeroy was downed 6-3, 6-4 by 118th-ranked Jonathan Stokke at the No. 2 spot. Porter was defeated by Duke's Peter Rodrigues, ranked 103 in the nation, by a score of 6-4, 6-4.
The Tar Heel loss gave Duke an additional point in the 2004-2005 Carlyle Cup standings. The Carlyle Cup is awarded annually to the all-sports champion between the two schools based on competition in 23 sports. The Cup is sponsored by Carlyle and Company. UNC leads the current year's standings by 11.5 points to 7.5 points.
UNC will now travel to Atlanta, Ga., for their April 17 match against Georgia Tech. The match will mark the end of the regular-season for the Tar Heels. Play is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. The Yellow Jackets are 11-8 overall on the season and 3-5 in the ACC.
#5 DUKE 7, #44 NORTH CAROLINA 0
DOUBLES (worth 1 team point to team winning majority of matches)
1. #43 Ludovic Walter/Jason Zimmerman (DU) def. #41 Geoff Boyd/Brad Pomeroy (UNC), 9-8(4)
2. Jonathan Stokke/Charles Brezac (DU) def. Raian Luchici/Jonathan Janda (UNC), 8-2
3. Stephen Armitraj/Peter Shults (DU) def. Ali Mandour/Sebastian Guejman (UNC), 8-4
SINGLES
1. #3 Ludovic Walter (DU) def. #80 Raian Luchici (UNC), 6-4, 6-0
2. #118 Jonathan Stokke (DU) def. Brad Pomeroy (UNC), 6-3, 6-4
3. #76 Stephen Armitraj (DU) def. Geoff Boyd (UNC), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
4. #103 Peter Rodrigues (DU) def. Derek Porter (UNC), 6-4, 6-4
5. Charles Brezac (DU) def. Jonathan Janda (UNC), 6-1, 6-2
6. Peter Shults (DU) def. Sebastian Guejman (UNC), 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish: #6, #5, #1*, #2, #4, #3
Records: Duke 17-3, ACC 7-1; North Carolina 14-8, ACC 4-5
Players Mentioned
