North Carolina
Auburn
#23 Tar Heels Pick Up Big Win Over Auburn Tigers
March 19, 2010 | Men's Tennis
March 19, 2010
CHAPEL HILL- The UNC men's tennis team grabbed a hard-earned victory Friday afternoon over a feisty Auburn squad at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
The Tar Heels improved to 11-2 with the win over the #56-ranked Tigers, their second win of the week following a 6-1 trouncing of N.C. State to open ACC play. With the win, the Tar Heels evened the overall series with Auburn at 6-6.
North Carolina continued their strong form in doubles as all three teams got victories. Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy, ranked #54 in the country, earned a massive doubles victory over the #8 doubles pairing in the nation in Auburn's Alex Stamchev and Tim Puetz. At No. 2 doubles, Brennan Boyajian and Ryan Noble made quick work of their opponents, winning 8-1. Though the point was sealed, the No. 3 pairing of Cameron Ahari and Jose Hernandez won a tiebreaker to keep the Heels perfect.
The Tigers came out firing in singles, and looked to have the momentum as they went up 3-2 in the overall match score. First Auburn's Tim Puetz knocked out #49 Clay Donato in No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-2. Then Alex Stamchev gave Auburn the lead in No. 3 singles when he defeated Stefan Hardy, 6-3, 6-3.
Boyajian tied the match up at 2-2 with an inspired win at No. 4 singles, taking the victory 6-3, 6-2. Soon after, Auburn came back through Andy Mies at No. 5 singles when he defeated Noble 6-0, 7-6(6).
At No. 2 singles, Hernandez and Auburn's Tim Hewitt had a back-and-forth affair. After taking the first set, Hernandez dropped the second and went 3-0 down in the third. The freshman from the Dominican Republic fought his way back to 4-4 and then won the last eight points of the match to seal it.
Shortly after, Andrew Crone finished off his opponent at No. 6 singles, 7-5, 6-4, and the comeback was complete.
#23 UNC 4, #56 Auburn 3
Records: UNC 11-2, Auburn 4-7
Doubles
1. #54 Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. Tim Puetz and Alex Stamchev (Auburn) 8-6
2. Brennan Boyajian and Ryan Noble (UNC) d. Andreas Mies and Michel Monteiro (Auburn) 8-1
3. Cam Ahari and Jose Hernandez (UNC) d. Tim Hewitt and Lucas Lopasso (Auburn) 8-7(7-2)
Singles
1. Tim Puetz (Auburn) d. #49 Clay Donato (UNC) 6-0, 6-2
2. Jose Hernandez (UNC) d. Tim Hewitt (Auburn) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
3. Alex Stamchev (Auburn) d. Stefan Hardy (UNC) 6-3, 6-3
4. Brennan Boyajian (UNC) d. Lucas Lopasso (Auburn) 6-3, 6-2
5. Andy Mies (Auburn) d. Ryan Noble (UNC) 6-0, 7-6(6)
6. Andrew Crone (UNC) d. Michael Wardell (Auburn) 7-5, 6-4
Order of finish
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 1, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6
Players Mentioned
