University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
Heels Drop Close Match Against #1 Cavaliers 4-3
April 2, 2010 | Men's Tennis
April 2, 2010
CHAPEL HILL- The North Carolina men's tennis team narrowly missed an upset of the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers Friday afternoon, falling 4-3.
The #20 Heels mounted a furious comeback during singles, coming back from 3-0 down to tie the match before UVa.'s Lee Singer won his No. 6 singles match to steal the victory for the Cavaliers. With the loss, North Carolina drops to 12-4 and 3-2 in the ACC, while Virginia moves to 26-1 (6-0).
The Heels lost the doubles point for only the fourth time this season, all of those occasions ending in losses for the team. The Cavaliers, with all three pairings ranked nationally, swept the three matches. The 17th-ranked pair of Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy was beaten at No. 1 doubles by the 11th-ranked team of Drew Courtney and Michael Shabaz.
In singles, the Heels regained the momentum after losses by Donato and Andrew Crone put them in a 3-0 hole. Brennan Boyajian, ranked #108, began the comeback at No. 4 singles, winning 7-6(5), over the 39th-ranked player in the country in Virginia's Jarmere Jenkins.
Jose Hernandez, ranked #78, pulled a massive three-set upset at No. 2 singles over #9 Sanam Singh, 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-2. Then Stefan Hardy added an upset of his own, winning at No. 3 singles over #53 Drew Courtney 7-6, 4-6, 6-2.
With the match notched at 3-3, Zach Hunter was outmatched in the No. 6 flight by #77 Lee Singer, who outlasted Hunter over three sets to take the dual match victory. Head coach Sam Paul said he was proud of his team's performance.
"All of these guys competed extremely hard today and very well," Paul said. "In the end we just came up a bit short. We had a couple of good days of practice before this match, and I think we're on the right track."
North Carolina has dropped two straight after winning eight in a row. The Heels will look to get back on track Sunday when they face Virginia Tech at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center at 1 p.m.
#1 Virginia 4, #20 UNC 3
Records: Virginia 26-1 (6-0), UNC 12-4 (3-2)
Doubles
1. #11 Drew Courtney and Michael Shabaz (UVa) d. #17 Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy (UNC) 8-6
2. #21 Houston Barrick and Sanam Singh (UVa) d. Brennan Boyajian and Cameron Ahari (UNC) 8-2
3. #58 Jarmere Jenkins and Lee Singer (UVa) d. Andrew Crone and Jose Hernandez (UNC) 8-5
Singles:
1. #3 Michael Shabaz (Uva) d. #51 Clay Donato (UNC) 7-6(4), 6-3
2. #78 Jose Hernandez (UNC) d. Sanam Singh (UVa) 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-2
3. Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. #53 Drew Courtney (UVa) 7-6, 4-6, 6-2
4. #108 Brennan Boyajian (UNC) d. #39 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) 7-6(5), 6-4
5. #95 Houston Barrick (Uva) d. Andrew Crone (UNC) 6-2, 6-4
6. #77 Lee Singer (Uva.) d. Zach Hunter (UNC) 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-2
Order of Finish:
Singles: 5, 1, 4, 2, 3, 6
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Players Mentioned
