University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Michigan
North Carolina Rallies Past Michigan
March 15, 2009 | Men's Tennis
March 15, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 37 North Carolina staged a furious rally in singles play to upset No. 32 Michigan 4-3 Sunday afternoon in an indoor match at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. It marked the third time this season the Tar Heels have rallied for a victory after dropping the doubles point. UNC also did so in 4-3 victories over California on February 1 and Auburn on March 1.
It was the players at the top four spots in the Tar Heel lineup who persevered to pull out the victory for Coach Sam Paul's Tar Heels. Clay Donato, Taylor Fogleman, Andrew Crone and Brennan Boyajian pulled out victories to rally the Tar Heels at the 1, 2, 3, 4 spots.
The Wolverines claimed the doubles point as Michigan won the final two matches off the court to go up 1-0. After Carolina won at the No. 3 spot, the Michigan duo of Jason Jung and George Navas rallied from a 3-0 deficit to upset No. 27 Clay Donato and Taylor Fogleman 8-5. At No. 2 doubles, it took 70 minutes to decide the match but Michigan pulled out the doubles point by winning 9-8, taking the tiebreaker 7-2.
The Tar Heels then put on their rally caps. Taylor Fogleman played one of his best matches of the season as the No. 50-ranked Tar Heel from New Orleans, La. whipped Andrew Mazlin 6-1, 6-0 in only 55 minutes. Carolina then went up 2-1 as Clay Donato, No. 23 in the nation, upended Jason Jung of Michigan 6-2, 6-4. With the match at 4-3 in Donato's favor in the second set, Donato fought off a pair of break points to go up 5-3.
The Wolverines went back up 3-2 as Drew Daniel beat Alex Rafiee 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6. Rafiee was a late addition to the Tar Heel lineup after Zach Hunter fell ill after playing doubles. UNC then won the next two matches to clinch the victory. Brennan Boyajian beat Peter Aarts 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) at No. 4 singles and then Andrew Crone won a tough three-set match from Chris Madden to provide the clinching triumph. Crone won 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Crone broke to go up at 3-1 in the final set and then won four straight points on its next service game to make it 4-1. Madden had trouble with his serve in the eighth and clinching game of the set, double faulting three times.
Michigan claimed the last point of the match as George Navas beat Luke Mojica 6-4, 7-5 at No. 5 singles.
North Carolina won its second match in a row and is now 11-3 on the season with 10 ACC dual matches remaining on the schedule. The Wolverines fell to 6-9 overall on the season. The Maize and Blue has played a very difficult schedule in the last 18 days, dropping five matches in a row.
Next up for the Tar Heels is a return to Atlantic Coast Conference dual match play as Carolina puts its 0-1 ACC record on the line against the University of Miami on Friday, March 20 at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center for a 3 p.m. start. The No. 33 Hurricanes come to Chapel Hill with a record of 6-5 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. Miami hosts Kentucky at home Wednesday before meeting the Tar Heels.
No. 37 North Carolina 4, No. 32 Michigan 3
Played Indoors, 46 degrees, Rain
Doubles (Team Winning Majority Of Matches Earns One Team Point)
Order of match finish: 3, 1, 2 (1:10)
2. Andrew Mazlin / Chris Madden (UM) d. Andrew Crone / Alex Rafiee (UNC), 9-8 (7-2)
3. Brennan Boyajian / Zach Hunter (UNC) d. Drew Daniel / Mike Sroczynski, 8-6
Singles (One Team Point Per Singles Match)
Order of match finish: 2 (:55), 1, 6, 4, 3, 5
2. No. 50 Taylor Fogleman (UNC) d. Andrew Mazlin (UM), 6-1, 6-0
3. Andrew Crone (UNC) d. Chris Madden (UM), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
4. Brennan Boyajian (UNC) d. Peter Aarts (UM), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
5. George Navas (UM) d. Luke Mojica (UNC), 6-4, 7-5
6. Drew Daniel (UM) d. Alex Rafiee (UNC), 6-2, 6-2
Records:
North Carolina 11-3, Michigan 6-9
Players Mentioned
