North Carolina
Miami
Singles Play Pushes No. 19 UNC Past No. 25 Miami
April 15, 2011 | Men's Tennis
April 15, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The 19th-ranked University of North Carolina men's tennis team showed its toughness once again Friday afternoon as Coach Sam Paul's Tar Heels rallied past 25th-rated Miami 5-2 at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center to move into a tie for second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Tar Heels won for the 10th time in the last 12 matches to improve to 13-6 overall and 8-2 in the ACC. With the win, Carolina moved into a four-way tie for second place in the conference with the Hurricanes, Georgia Tech, which downed Virginia Tech 4-3 Friday, and Duke, which beat Florida State 4-3 Friday in Durham. Miami lost for only the second time in league play and is 14-6 overall and 8-2 in the league.
UNC won five of six singles matches Friday with Brennan Boyajian at No. 2 and Cameron Ahari at No. 6 posting near simultaneous wins in second set triebreakers to push the Tar Heels to the victory.
Coming off a 4-3 win over No. 10 Duke Wednesday, the Tar Heels appeared poised to take a quick 1-0 lead over the Hurricanes. But in doubles play it was the Hurricanes who excelled in the tiebreakers. UNC was first off the court at No. 1 as Joey Burkhardt and Stefan Hardy posted a quick 8-2 win. Needing one other win to clinch the doubles point, UNC was ahead 5-2 at No. 3 doubles but the lead did not hold. Miami rallied to win tiebreakers at No. 2 doubles 9-7 and at No. 3 doubles 7-5 to claim the first point.
With all the momentum flowing Miami's way, the Tar Heels again showed their mettle in close matches where they are 7-0 this season in matches decided by 4-3 scores. Friday's match was almost as close.
Sophomore Jose Hernandez started the rally at No. 1 singles where he made quick work of Christian Blocker 6-2, 6-2. At No. 3 singles, Stefan Hardy made equally quick work of Waylon Chin, posting a 6-3, 6-2 triumph. Miami pulled back into a tie with a win by Carl Sundberg at No. 4 but from then on it was all Tar Heels.
William Parker continued his excellent dual match play with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at No. 5 over Eduardo Pavia at the five spot in the singles lineup. On both courts two and six, Boyajian and Ahari had won first sets and then went into tiebreakers with their foes. Boyajian finished just ahead of his junior teammate to clinch the match. At No. 2 Boyajian ended up with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Keith Crowley. In the first set Boyajian broke Crowley in the 11th game and then served out the set. At No. 6, Ahari wound up with a 6-3, 7-6 (12-10) victory over Gabriel Flores. Ahari led 5-0 in the tiebreak before it evened at 10-10. Ahari then won the last two points to claim the victory.
A win over No. 41 Florida State on Sunday would give the Tar Heels their ninth ACC victory. It will be senior day for Stefan Hardy and Kyle Baker. Match time is 1 p.m. at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Admission is free.
No. 19 North Carolina 5, No. 25 Miami 2
(UNC 13-6, ACC 8-2; Miami 14-6, ACC 8-2)
Singles:
1. #25 Jose Hernandez (UNC) d. Christian Blocker (UM), 6-2, 6-2
2. Brennan Boyajian (UNC) d. Keith Crowley (UM), 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. Waylon Chin (UM), 6-3, 6-2
4. Carl Sundberg (UM) d. #90 Joey Burkhardt (UNC) 6-2, 6-4
5. William Parker (UNC) d. Eduardo Pavia (UM), 6-3, 6-4
6. Cameron Ahari (UNC) d. Gabriel Flores (UM), 6-3, 7-6 (12-10)
Doubles:
1. #59 Joe Burkhardt / Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. Christian Blocker / Carl Sundberg (UM), 8-2
2. Omar Aly / Keith Crowley (UM) d. Brennan Boyajian / Cameron Ahari (UNC), 9-8 (9-7)
3. Pedro Ast / Eduardo Pavia (UM) d. Jose Hernandez and Zach Hunter (UNC), 9-8 (7-5)
Order of Finish:
Singles: 1, 3, 4, 5, 2*, 6
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
*Clinched victory
Players Mentioned
