North Carolina
Charlotte
Paul Earns 200th Victory As No. 14 Tar Heels Cruise Past Charlotte 7-0
March 4, 2006 | Men's Tennis
March 4, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - University of North Carolina men's tennis coach Sam Paul earned his 200th victory at Carolina and the 14th-ranked Tar Heels remained undefeated on the year with a 7-0 shutout victory over the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday at the Cone-Kenfield Center in Chapel Hill. With the victory, Carolina moves to 12-0 on the year, and Paul becomes only the eighth coach in Atlantic Coast Conference history to win 200 matches in his career.
"I'm lucky to work for such a great university, Paul said. "I'm lucky that [Athletic Director] Dick Baddour supported me through the years, as well as [Senior Associate Athletic Director for Olympic Sports] Beth Miller and [Senior Associate Athletic Director] Larry Gallo.
"I've just been fortunate to work for a great university and lucky to meet a number of incredible people and great student-athletes to work with."
The win was especially meaningful for Paul because he earned it against one of his former coaches, Jim Boykin. Boykin, now the head coach of the 49ers, coached Paul at Anderson (S.C.) College when Paul was a player there in the early 1980s.
"He gave me my start. He loved tennis and taught me that," Paul said. "I was blessed and fortunate to be around him too."
Carolina started the match fast, scoring the first point by sweeping all three doubles matches.
The pairing of junior Sebastian Guejman and senior Derek Porter were first off the court for the Tar Heels after posting an 8-2 victory over Charlotte's Felix Bernhoerster and Jonathan Vencatachellum at No. 3. The victory continues a stellar season for Guejman and Porter as the pair is now 9-0 in dual-match play.
The Tar Heels scored their second doubles victory at No. 1 after the senior tandem of Raian Luchici and Brad Pomeroy, the third-ranked doubles team in the country, took out Ryan Johnson and Stuart Lynas 8-0.
The final doubles victory for the Tar Heels came at the No. 2 spot as junior Lenny Gullan and sophomore David Stone defeated Charlotte's pairing of Roy Sichel and Dorian Host 8-4.
The Tar Heels have seen great success this year in doubles with their top three doubles teams going a combined 27-2 in dual-match play.
In singles action Carolina continued their dominance. The Tar Heels swept all six singles matches with straight-set wins.
Pomeroy earned the first singles point for the Tar Heels at the No. 3 spot with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Charlotte's Host. The victory was Pomeroy's seventh consecutive win and moves him to 12-5 this year.
Sophomore Benjamin Carlotti earned the second point for the Tar Heels at No. 5 with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over the 49ers' Lynas. Carlotti moves to 14-3 on the year with the victory.
Fellow sophomore Will Plyler bounced back from a loss in his last match against VCU to clinch the match for the Tar Heels at No. 6. Plyler defeated Charlotte's Vencatachellum 6-3, 6-1
After clinching the match, Carolina would earn victories from Guejman, Porter and Luchici.
Guejman defeated Zvi Lantsberg 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5 and Porter took down Johnson 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 before Luchici closed out the match at No. 1 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Sichel. Luchici, the No.9-ranked player in the country, moves to 15-4 on the year.
The Tar Heels continue play this afternoon against Navy in the second match of a doubleheader. Action against the Midshipmen begins at 4 p.m at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
No. 14 North Carolina 7, Charlotte 0
Doubles (team winning the majority of doubles matches earns one point)
No. 1 #3 Raian Luchici / Brad Pomeroy (UNC) d. Ryan Johnson / Stuart Lynas (C) 8-0
No. 2 Lenny Gullan / David Stone (UNC) d. Roy Sichel / Dorian Host (C) 8-4
No. 3 Sebastian Guejman / Derek Porter (UNC) d. Felix Bernhoerster / Jonathan Vencatachellum (C) 8-2
*Carolina wins doubles point
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
No. 1 #9 Raian Luchici (UNC) d. Roy Sichel (C) 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 Derek Porter (UNC) d. Ryan Johnson (C) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Brad Pomeroy (UNC) d. Dorian Host (C) 6-0, 6-0
No. 4 Sebastian Guejman (UNC) d. Zvi Lantsberg (C) 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 Benjamin Carlotti (UNC) d. Stuart Lynas (C) 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 Will Plyler (UNC) d. Jonathan Vencatachellum (C) 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 5, 6*, 4, 2, 1
*Clinched match
Updated Team Records: UNC 12-0, Charlotte 5-7
Players Mentioned
