UNC Stays Unbeaten In ACC Play With Win At Notre Dame

Friday, March 23

South Bend, Ind.

3:30 PM

North Carolina

Notre Dame

Blaine Boyden improved to 13-0 this spring with a win at No. 5.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

March 23, 2018 | Men's Tennis

By: UNC Athletic Communications

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – North Carolina stayed undefeated in Atlantic Coast Conference men's tennis play with a 6-1 win at No. 26 Notre Dame on Friday. Playing at Eck Tennis Center, the fifth-ranked Tar Heels improved to 13-3 overall and 4-0 in the ACC while the Irish fell to 10-9 (2-2).

UNC claimed the doubles point with a 6-0 win by sophomore Simon Soendergaard and freshman Mac Kiger at No. 3 and then a 6-2 win by junior Blaine Boyden and freshman Benjamin Sigouin at No. 2.

In singles, the Tar Heels claimed first sets on five of six courts. Sigouin beat Guillermo Cabrera 6-0, 6-2 on Court 2 to put UNC up 2-0.

The Irish took the next point, with Richard Ciamarra beating UNC's Soendergaard in straight sets.

After that it was all UNC. Senior Robert Kelly earned a 7-5 first-set win over Matt Gamble then cruised to a 6-2 victory in the second to put the Tar Heels up 3-1.

On Court 6, Kiger beat the Irish's Grayson Broadus 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the match.

At the No. 1 spot, sophomore William Blumberg beat Alex Lebedev 6-2 in the first set. After Lebedev, ranked No. 48, beat second-ranked Blumberg in a tiebreaker in the second set, the two went to a 10-point tiebreaker to decide the match. Blumberg won that 10-4.

Final UNC 6 Notre Dame 1 Blumberg wins 6-2, 6-7, 1-0(4), Boyden wins 7-6, 6-4 pic.twitter.com/Gf7zoZQqJk
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 23, 2018

Boyden wrapped up the action on Court 5, winning his first set in a tie-breaker then claiming the second 6-4 to stay undefeated (13-0) this spring.

Next up for the Tar Heels is a home matchup with top-ranked Wake Forest. The ACC battle at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center is set for Wednesday at 3 p.m.

No. 5 North Carolina 6, No. 26 Notre Dame 1
Doubles
Order of match finish: (3,2)
1. #3 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC) vs. Kempin/McCormick (ND), 5-4 UF
2. Sigouin/Boyden (UNC) d. Broadus/Ciamarra (ND), 6-2
3. Soendergarrd/Kiger (UNC) d. Gable/Lebedev (ND), 6-0

Singles
Order of match finish: (2,3,4,6,1,5)
1. #2 William Blumberg (UNC) d. #48 Alex Lebedev (ND), 6-2, 6-7(2-7), 1-0 (10-4)
2. #34 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) d. Guillermo Cabrera (ND), 6-0, 6-2
3. Richard Ciamarra (ND) d. Simon Soendergaard (UNC), 6-1, 6-2
4. #99 Robert Kelly (UNC) d. Matt Gamble (ND), 7-5, 6-2
5. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Tristan McCormick (ND), 7-6(8-6), 6-4
6. Mac Kiger (UNC) d. Grayson Broadus (ND), 6-3, 6-2

Records: UNC 13-3 (4-0 ACC), Notre Dame 10-9 (2-2)