North Carolina
Wake Forest
No. 16 Carolina Falls To No. 13 Wake Forest 4-3
April 13, 2015 | Men's Tennis
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Despite a late push in singles play, the 16th-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team fell to No. 13 Wake Forest 4-3 on Sunday at Wake Forest Tennis Complex. The Tar Heels drop to 17-9 (6-4 ACC) with the loss, while the Demon Deacons improve to 17-6 (6-3 ACC).
In what proved to be a pivotal moment, the Demon Deacons were able to prevail in a hotly contested fight for the doubles point.
On court one, UNC's 59th-ranked pair of junior Brett Clark and freshman Robert Kelly notched its seventh consecutive doubles win by defeating Wake Forest's ninth-ranked pair of Skaner Mansouri and Christian Seraphim 8-6. For Mansouri and Seraphim, the loss snapped a 12-match winning streak. Wake Forest's duo of Romain Bogaerts and Keivon Tabrizi proceeded to set up a winner-take-all situation on court two by topping the Tar Heels' veteran duo of Andrew Gores and Esben Hess-Olesen 8-6 at the No. 3 spot.
With the doubles point up for grabs, UNC's pair of Jack Murray and Ronnie Schneider could not fend off a rally from Jon Ho and Noah Rubin on court two, ultimately falling 8-7(5) in a tiebreaker.
The Tar Heels went on to drop all six first sets in singles before battling back and sending four matches to third sets.
At the No. 6 spot, junior Stuart DePaolo – filling in for injured UNC senior Oystein Steiro – dropped a tough match to Maksim Kan, 6-3, 6-3. On court two, 24th-ranked Ronnie Schneider fell to 13th-ranked Romain Bogaerts 6-2, 6-3.
Robert Kelly added UNC's first team point on court five, overcoming a first-set loss to defeat Christian Seraphim 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The Demon Deacons responded by clinching the match on court one behind 26th-ranked Noah Rubin, who outlasted No. 15 Brayden Schnur 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2.
Even with victory out of reach, Brett Clark and Jack Murray battled through three-set matches to conclude the match on a positive note. Murray topped No. 103 Jon Ho 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 on court four, and Clark, ranked 71st nationally, bested Skander Mansouri 3-6, 7-6(8), 7-5 on court three.
Carolina will travel to Georgia Tech on Friday and No. 70 Clemson on Sunday to wrap up the regular season. The matches are slated for 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. starts, respectively.
#13 Wake Forest 4, #16 North Carolina 3
Singles competition
1. #26 Noah Rubin (WF) def. #15 Brayden Schnur (UNC) 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-2
2. #13 Romain Bogaerts (WF) def. #24 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) 6-2, 6-3
3. #71 Brett Clark (UNC) def. Skander Mansouri (WF) 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
4. Jack Murray (UNC) def. #103 Jon Ho (WF) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. #109 Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Christian Seraphim (WF) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. Maksim Kan (WF) def. Stuart DePaolo (UNC) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #59 Robert Kelly/Brett Clark (UNC) def. #9 Skander Mansouri/Christian Seraphim (WF) 8-6
2. Jon Ho/Noah Rubin (WF) def. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) 8-7 (7-5)
3. Romain Bogaerts/Keivon Tabrizi (WF) def. Andrew Gores/Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC) 8-6
Match Notes
North Carolina 17-9 (6-4 ACC); National ranking #16
Wake Forest 17-6 (7-3 ACC); National ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,2,5,1,4,3)
Match played outdoors.
Match delayed one hour due to WF women's tennis match beforehand.
T-4:04 A-458
Players Mentioned
