University of North Carolina Athletics
Sunday, April 29
Cary, N.C.
2:00 PM
North Carolina
0
vs
4
Wake Forest (ACC Championship)
Sophomore William Blumberg and the Tar Heels now look ahead to the NCAA Tournament.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
UNC Falls To Top-Seeded Wake Forest In ACC Final
April 29, 2018 | Men's Tennis
CARY, N.C. – Sixth-ranked North Carolina fell 4-0 to No. 1 Wake Forest Sunday afternoon in the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Tennis Championship final match, played under sunny skies at Cary Tennis Park. The Tar Heels, 21-5 on the season, now await Tuesday's announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
"Congratulations to Wake Forest – they played well," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "I'm proud of my team. They didn't quit."
The Demon Deacons, the top seed in the tournament, opened by taking the doubles point with wins on courts 2 and 3. UNC hadn't dropped the doubles point since its last loss, which to Wake Forest on March 28, 4-3 in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels had won nine matches since then, including 4-0 victories over NC State and Florida State in ACC Tournament play.
Up 1-0, Wake took two singles matches in straight sets. Tar Heel freshman Benjamin Sigouin, ranked 30th, fell 7-5, 6-1 to fourth-ranked Petros Chrysochos on Court 2. On Court 6, freshman Mac Kiger then fell 7-5, 6-3 to Rrezart Cungu.
On Court 1, UNC's William Blumberg won his first set in a 10-8 tiebreaker and was up 6-5 in the second. Senior Robert Kelly on Court 4 also won his first set in a tiebreaker. He fell 6-2 to Bar Botzer in the second and the battle had gone into a third set.
And on Court 5, junior Blaine Boyden fell in the first set but came back to win the second 6-2. He led 5-4 in the third set when the match finished. On Court 3, No. 38 Skander Mansouri beat UNC's Simon Soendergaard 6-2 in the first set, but Soendergaard came back to win the second 6-4. Mansouri took the third set 6-3 to clinch the match.
"It was a great weekend for us overall," Boyden said. "It's tough to lose, but Wake's got a great team and from this match we know what we're going to need to do moving forward if we want to win in May, and that's the ultimate goal. There are a lot of positives out of this. Obviously it hurts, but it's going to motivate us to get back to work."
The NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced Tuesday beginning at 5:30 p.m. The selection show will air on NCAA.com.
No. 1 Wake Forest 4, No. 6 North Carolina 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (3,2)
1. #31 Gojo/Mansouri (WF) vs. #1 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC), 6-5 UF
2. #40 Botzer/Chrysochos (WF) d. Boyden/Sigouin (UNC), 6-4
3. Dempster/Seraphim (WF) d. Soendergarrd/Kiger (UNC), 6-3
Singles
Order of match finish: (2,6,3)
1. #6 Borna Gojo (WF) vs. #3 William Blumberg (UNC),
2. #4 Petros Chrysochos (WF) d. #30 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC), 7-5, 6-1
3. #38 Skander Mansouri (WF) d. Simon Soendergaard (UNC), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
4. Bar Botzer (WF) vs. #87 Robert Kelly (UNC), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 2-1 UF
5. Christian Seraphim (WF) vs. Blaine Boyden (UNC), 6-1, 2-6, 4-5 UF
6. Rrezart Cungu (WF) d. Mac Kiger (UNC), 7-5, 6-3
Records: UNC 21-5, Wake Forest 25-2
"Congratulations to Wake Forest – they played well," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "I'm proud of my team. They didn't quit."
The Demon Deacons, the top seed in the tournament, opened by taking the doubles point with wins on courts 2 and 3. UNC hadn't dropped the doubles point since its last loss, which to Wake Forest on March 28, 4-3 in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels had won nine matches since then, including 4-0 victories over NC State and Florida State in ACC Tournament play.
Up 1-0, Wake took two singles matches in straight sets. Tar Heel freshman Benjamin Sigouin, ranked 30th, fell 7-5, 6-1 to fourth-ranked Petros Chrysochos on Court 2. On Court 6, freshman Mac Kiger then fell 7-5, 6-3 to Rrezart Cungu.
On Court 1, UNC's William Blumberg won his first set in a 10-8 tiebreaker and was up 6-5 in the second. Senior Robert Kelly on Court 4 also won his first set in a tiebreaker. He fell 6-2 to Bar Botzer in the second and the battle had gone into a third set.
And on Court 5, junior Blaine Boyden fell in the first set but came back to win the second 6-2. He led 5-4 in the third set when the match finished. On Court 3, No. 38 Skander Mansouri beat UNC's Simon Soendergaard 6-2 in the first set, but Soendergaard came back to win the second 6-4. Mansouri took the third set 6-3 to clinch the match.
"It was a great weekend for us overall," Boyden said. "It's tough to lose, but Wake's got a great team and from this match we know what we're going to need to do moving forward if we want to win in May, and that's the ultimate goal. There are a lot of positives out of this. Obviously it hurts, but it's going to motivate us to get back to work."
The NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced Tuesday beginning at 5:30 p.m. The selection show will air on NCAA.com.
No. 1 Wake Forest 4, No. 6 North Carolina 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (3,2)
1. #31 Gojo/Mansouri (WF) vs. #1 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC), 6-5 UF
2. #40 Botzer/Chrysochos (WF) d. Boyden/Sigouin (UNC), 6-4
3. Dempster/Seraphim (WF) d. Soendergarrd/Kiger (UNC), 6-3
Singles
Order of match finish: (2,6,3)
1. #6 Borna Gojo (WF) vs. #3 William Blumberg (UNC),
2. #4 Petros Chrysochos (WF) d. #30 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC), 7-5, 6-1
3. #38 Skander Mansouri (WF) d. Simon Soendergaard (UNC), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
4. Bar Botzer (WF) vs. #87 Robert Kelly (UNC), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 2-1 UF
5. Christian Seraphim (WF) vs. Blaine Boyden (UNC), 6-1, 2-6, 4-5 UF
6. Rrezart Cungu (WF) d. Mac Kiger (UNC), 7-5, 6-3
Records: UNC 21-5, Wake Forest 25-2
Players Mentioned
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