North Carolina
Duke
UNC Edges Duke In Thriller To Reserve Spot In ACC Semis
April 24, 2015 | Men's Tennis
CARY, N.C. – With a spot in the ACC semifinals at stake, the fourth-seeded North Carolina men's tennis team edged fifth-seeded Duke 4-3 on Friday in a marathon at Cary Tennis Park that lasted longer than four hours. The Tar Heels dropped the doubles point but battled back to tie the match at 3-3, setting up sophomore Jack Murray for his match-clinching victory on court four in a winner-take-all third set.
Carolina improves to 21-9 with the win, while the Blue Devils fall to 22-6.
Doubles play got off to a promising start for the Tar Heels, with Murray and fellow sophomore Ronnie Schneider notching an 8-5 victory over Duke's pair of Raphael Hemmeler and Daniel McCall. However, the Blue Devils would take control on courts two and three to secure the point. At the No. 2 spot, senior Esben Hess-Olesen and sophomore Brayden Schnur rallied from down 6-3 to force a tiebreaker, but the duo ultimately fell to Duke's Josh Levine and Jason Tahir 8-7. With the doubles point up for grabs, Carolina's 39th-ranked pair of junior Brett Clark and freshman Robert Kelly dropped a rare match at the hands of TJ Pura and Bruno Semenzato, 8-6. The loss snapped Clark and Kelly's nine-match win streak that dated back to Feb. 20 at Texas.
Singles competition did not disappoint for the UNC fans that ventured out to Cary Tennis Park. The Tar Heels were able to tally four wins – including three in three sets – to steal a win from its archrival.
Duke struck first in singles, as TJ Pura downed Tar Heel senior Andrew Gores 6-0, 6-1 on court six to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead. Robert Kelly countered for UNC on court five by dismissing Josh Levine 7-6, 6-3 for his 31st singles win of the season.
On court one, 12th-ranked Brayden Schnur evened up the proceedings at 2-2 by outlasting Duke's No. 46 Jason Tahir 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3, and No. 68 Brett Clark gave UNC its first lead of the day with a huge rally. Clark, a Naples, Fla. native, found himself down 3-6, 2-4 and battled through leg cramps to defeat Bruno Semenzato 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
The Blue Devils responded courtesy a tough effort from 70th-ranked Raphael Hemmeler, who defeated No. 23 Ronnie Schneider 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-0 on court two. Hemmeler's win set the stage for a deciding third set on court four, where Murray and Duke's Chris Mengel were in the midst of a back-and-forth contest.
As the crowd gathered to watch the winner-take-all third set, Mengel put together a last-ditch push down 5-3 by breaking Murray and then holding serve. Murray pushed ahead 6-5 by holding serve and proceeded to break Mengel on his third match point to clinch the victory for the Tar Heels. Murray, a Michigan native, was embraced by his teammates as the crowd roared its approval.
“What a great match on both sides,” said UNC head coach Sam Paul. “I'm extremely proud of our team after losing the doubles point and then not looking good in singles (initially)…We fought back and found a way to get back into the match. It was a great college tennis match and I'm just proud of my team.”
Friday's victory gives UNC a 2-0 season sweep of the Blue Devils, which was last achieved in 2008 when the Tar Heels beat Duke in the regular season and in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels will be back in action on Saturday at 10 a.m. against top-seeded Virginia in the semifinals. The Cavaliers are 2-0 versus UNC this season, with the teams having met in the consolation round of the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship and in conference play. A live video stream will be available on ESPN3, with Shawn Kenney handling play-by-play and Brian Clark adding analysis.
#16 North Carolina 4, #9 Duke 3
Singles competition
1. #12 Brayden Schnur (UNC) def. #46 Jason Tahir (DU) 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3
2. #70 Raphael Hemmeler (DU) def. #23 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-0
3. #68 Brett Clark (UNC) def. Bruno Semenzato (DU) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
4. #117 Jack Murray (UNC) def. Chris Mengel (DU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
5. Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Josh Levine (DU) 7-6, 6-3
6. TJ Pura (DU) def. Andrew Gores (UNC) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Levine/Tahir (DU) def. Hess-Olesen/Schnur (UNC) 8-7
2. Pura/Semenzato (DU) def. #39 Clark/Kelly (UNC) 8-6
3. Murray/Schneider (UNC) def. Hemmeler/McCall (DU) 8-5
Match Notes:
North Carolina 21-9; National ranking #16
Duke 22-6; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,5,1,3,2,4)
Players Mentioned
