University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Tops Duke 6-1 In First ACC Match
March 8, 2017 | Men's Tennis
Under sunny skies at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, the Tar Heels cruised to the doubles point. At No. 2, freshman William Blumberg and sophomore Blaine Boyden won 6-2. At No. 3, senior Ronnie Schneider and sophomore Anu Kodali won 6-3 minutes later to put UNC up 1-0 heading into singles play.
“I liked the way we came out in doubles in our first outdoor match,” UNC coach Sam Paul said. “Duke's got a good team. We've still got some things we've got to work on, but for our first outdoor match of the season I'm very happy with our team.”
While still adjusting to the outdoor conditions, the Tar Heels claimed five of six first sets. Blumberg, playing at No. 2, sealed his victory first, beating No. 94 Nick Stachowiak 6-4, 6-3. Sophomore Arturo Schmidt battled to a 7-5 win in his first set at No. 6 but had no problems in the second, winning 6-0 to put Carolina within a point of the W.
Schmidt rallies to win 1st set, 7-5 pic.twitter.com/qIHh5wkDeL
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 7, 2017
Duke claimed the next point with a win at No. 4, where TJ Pura beat Tar Heel Jack Murray 6-3, 6-3.
Schneider, playing at No. 1, provided the clinching point, beating Catalin Mateas 6-3, 6-4.
UNC 4 Duke 1 Schneider clinches it 3,4 over Mateas pic.twitter.com/cu3SfIYZ1V
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 7, 2017
The teams played out the final two matches, at No. 3 and No. 5. UNC had taken the first sets in tie-breakers in both instances, and the Blue Devils came back to win the second sets. Because the team win was already decided, each went to a 10-point tie-breaker, and both times it was the Tar Heels who came out on top.
At No. 3, freshman Simon Soendergaard fought to a 10-8 win in his tie-breaker against Spencer Furman. That left just Court 5 occupied, and Boyden cleared it just about as quickly as he could have, beating Ryan Dickerson 10-2.
Next up for the Tar Heels is a road match against No. 2 Wake Forest. Carolina meets the Demon Deacons Friday at 1 p.m. in Winston-Salem, N.C.
March 7, 2017
Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center
Chapel Hill, N.C.
No. 5 UNC 6, No. 43 Duke 1
Doubles
Order of match finish: (2,3)
1. Soendergaard/Murray (UNC) vs. Furman/Stachowiak (DU), 3-4
2. Blumberg/Boyden (UNC) d. Lapidus/Dickerson (DU), 6-2
3. Kodali/Schneider (UNC) d. Mateas/Pura (DU), 6-3
Singles
Order of match finish: (2,6,4,1,3,5)
1. Ronnie Schneider (UNC) d. Catalin Mateas (DU), 6-3, 6-4
2. William Blumberg (UNC) d. Nick Stachowiak (DU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) d. Spencer Furman (DU), 7-6(3), 2-6, 1-0(8)
4. TJ Pura (DU) d. Jack Murray (UNC), 6-3, 6-3
5. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Ryan Dickerson (DU), 7-6(5), 5-7. 1-0(2)
6. Arturo Schmidt (UNC) d. Jason Lapidus (DU), 7-5, 6-0
Records: UNC 13-1 (1-0 ACC), Duke 8-4 (1-1 ACC)
