North Carolina Cruises to 4-0 Win Over Auburn

Tuesday, February 26

Chapel Hill, N.C.

2:30 PM

North Carolina

Auburn

February 26, 2008 | Men's Tennis

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Feb. 26, 2008

Chapel Hill, NC - The 8th nationally ranked Tar Heels rolled to a 4-0 victory Tuesday afternoon, carrying the momentum of a close win in a tense competition for the team doubles point into a singles sweep over 35th-ranked Auburn. The 8th win of the season for UNC carried additional meaning for the Tar Heels, as it was Head Coach Sam Paul's 245th career win, moving him past Allen Morris to 3rd all-time on North Carolina's career win list.

"I'm very fortunate," Coach Paul said of the success he has experienced at UNC. "I've had a lot of great players and assistants that have helped me get here."

Paul has had his team firing on all cylinders recently, as the Tar Heels are on a four game win streak that includes victories over the fourth, ninth, and 21st ranked teams in the nation.

"We've played such a tough schedule, and I'm proud of the way our team has come ready to play every day," Paul remarked. "Coming off the Team Indoors, we've had two matches against dangerous, underrated teams, and have won both. I'm just really proud of this whole team."

Tuesday's match with Auburn began with a doubles competition that had emotions running high from the start. After sophomores Clay Donato and Chris Kearney won 8-6 at the third slot, Auburn's 43rd ranked combo of Terence Nugent and Alexey Tsyrenov answered with an 8-6 victory of their own. With the team doubles point hanging in the balance, seniors David Stone and Lenny Gullan came through with a huge 8-6 win over the nation's 31st ranked doubles team to put the match in the Tar Heels favor, 1-0.

After the close doubles competition, North Carolina hit the ground running in singles and never looked back. For the second time in the match, super sophomores Donato and Kearney secured the first points for the Tar Heels, with wins of 6-2, 6-1, and 6-4, 6-4, respectively. With a 3-0 lead and some breathing room to spare, UNC turned to junior Taylor Fogleman to close out the match. Fogleman's 6-3, 6-4 win was his fourth in a row in singles, and improved his overall singles record to an impressive 12-3 on the year.

The Tar Heels now look ahead to another home match at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, where they are 6-1 this season, on Sunday. The match on March 2nd will be against Howard, and while the time of the match has not yet been scheduled, it will be announced within the week.

#8 North Carolina 4, #35 Auburn 0

Records: UNC 8-3, Auburn 4-3

Doubles

#1 Nugent/Tsyrenov [#43] (Auburn) d. Fogleman/Hardy (UNC) 8-6

#2 David Stone / Lenny Gullan (UNC) d. Marsoun/Puetz [#31] (Auburn) 8-6

#3 Donato/Kearney (UNC) d. Dilaj/Petropoulos (Auburn) 8-6

Order of match finish: #3, #1, #2

Singles

#1 Alexey Tsyrenov [#59] (Auburn) led Benjamin Carlotti (UNC) 7-5, 4-2

#2 Stefan Hardy [#75] (UNC) led Tim Puetz [#81] (Auburn) 6-1, 4-6, 3-2

#3 Clay Donato (UNC) d. Lukas Marsoun (Auburn) 6-2, 6-1

#4 Chris Kearney [#66] (UNC) d. Terence Nugent (Auburn) 6-4, 6-4