North Carolina
Virginia Tech
Tar Heel Tennis Team Clinches Fourth Straight Win
April 2, 2005 | Men's Tennis
April 2, 2005
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Winning their fourth successive match Saturday afternoon, North Carolina's men's tennis team rallied from behind to defeat Virginia Tech 5-2 at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The win snapped the Hokies' eight-match winning streak. The 49th-ranked Tar Heels improve to 14-5 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. The Hokies fall to 13-5 overall on the season and 4-2 in the ACC.
Brad Pomeroy rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the second set to clinch the match. Playing No. 2 singles, he defeated 95th-ranked Arvid Puranean 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4). The win was Pomeroy's 50th career singles match.
VT took the lead early in the afternoon by grabbing the doubles point. The Tar Heels started out strong in the No. 2 doubles spot, as Jonathan Janda and Raian Luchici edged Angel Diankov and Brent Wilkins 8-4. But the Hokies were able to rally back starting with an 8-5 victory at the No. 3 spot as Albert Larregola combined with Arvid Puranean to defeat Sebastian Guejman and Aly Mandour. At the No. 1 spot, Virginia Tech's Stephane Rod and Alexi Sergeev broke Geoff Boyd's serve at 8-7 to win over UNC's 33rd-ranked tandem Boyd and Brad Pomeroy to clinch the doubles point.
This year, UNC's usual key to success is winning the doubles point, and after losing it, the singles' matches became even more crucial if the Tar Heels were to extend their winning streak. The Tar Heels are now 13-0 when winning the doubles point and 1-5 when losing it as they won Saturday for the first time after losing the doubles point. Despite a 55-minute weather delay that eventually moved the singles matches indoors, the Carolina team was able to regain its composure to cruise to a solid victory.
UNC's Geoff Boyd quickly started the Tar Heel comeback by defeating Albert Larregola 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 3 singles spot, tying the match at 1-1. Junior Raian Luchici notched a 7-5, 6-4 upset win over 78th-ranked Stephane Rod at the No. 1 spot. It was only Rod's second loss this spring. Luchici's win put the Tar Heels up for good against the Hokies at 2-1.
At No. 4 singles, Derek Porter captured a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Angel Diankov. Carolina then went up 4-1 against the Hokies with Pomeroy's win over Puranean.
Tech then brought the score to 4-2 as Alexi Sergeev defeated Benjamin Carlotti 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot. Prior to the loss, Carlotti had been a perfect 10-0 at the No. 5 spot this season.
Jonathan Janda closed out the Carolina victory, bringing the final score to 5-2. Playing at the No.6 spot, Janda edged Mattieu Leboucher 7-5, 5-7, (10-3). A supertiebreaker was played in lieu of the third set.
UNC will next be in action against No. 30 Wake Forest. The match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 8 in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Demon Deacons are 12-4 overall on the season and 4-3 in the ACC.
#49 NORTH CAROLINA 5, #41 VIRGINIA TECH 2
DOUBLES (worth 1 team point to team winning majority of matches)
1. Stephane Rod/Alexi Sergeev (VT) def. No. 33 Brad Pomeroy/Geoff Boyd (UNC), 9-7
2. Jonathan Janda/Raian Luchici (UNC) def. Angel Diankov/Brent Wilkins (VT), 8-4
3. Albert Larregola/Arvid Puranean (VT) def. Sebastian Guejman/Aly Mandour (UNC), 8-5
Order of Finish: #2, #3, #1
SINGLES
1. Raian Luchici (UNC) def. No. 78 Stephane Rod (VT), 7-5, 6-4
2. Brad Pomeroy (UNC) def. No. 95 Arvid Puranean (VT), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4)
3. Geoff Boyd (UNC) def. Albert Larregola (VT), 6-4, 6-4
4. Derek Porter (UNC) def. Angel Diankov (VT), 6-3, 6-4
5. Alexi Sergeev (VT) def. Benjamin Carlotti (UNC), 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
6. Jonathan Janda (UNC) def. Mattieu Leboucher (VT), 7-5, 5-7, (10-3)
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6
Records: North Carolina 14-5, ACC 4-2; Virginia Tech 13-5, ACC 4-2
Players Mentioned
