Friday, March 22
Chapel Hill
2:00 PM
North Carolina
4
vs
1
Oklahoma
Josh Peck celebrates the three-set win that clinched UNC's victory over Oklahoma.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Carolina Celebrates Return Home With 4-1 Win
March 22, 2019 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Playing under sunny skies and on newly-resurfaced home courts, the North Carolina men's tennis team beat No. 20 Oklahoma 4-1 Friday afternoon at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The 11th-ranked Tar Heels boosted their record to 11-3 and coach Sam Paul saw his team continue to improve.
"We played more of a complete match," Paul said. "I was pleased with how we competed. We just played better tennis."
UNC claimed the doubles point, speeding to wins on Court 2 (Brian Cernoch and Benjamin Sigouin, 6-1) and Court 3 (Simon Soendergaard and Mac Kiger, 6-2).
Senior Blaine Boyden picked up the first win in singles, 6-3, 6-0 on Court 4 over Jochen Bertsch. Next to wrap up was Kiger, a sophomore, on Court 6. He beat Max Stewart 6-4, 6-4 to put the Tar Heels up 3-0.
The Sooners grabbed the next win, though. On Court 2, Oklahoma's Alex Bakshi, ranked No. 49, beat Cernoch, a freshman ranked No. 110, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to earn the visitors a point.
That made it 3-1 Carolina with Courts 1, 3 and 5 still in play. On Court 1, No. 37 Sigouin won the first set 6-4, but fell 6-3 to No. 54 Spencer Papa in the second. On Court 3, junior Josh Peck followed the same pattern, winning the first set over No. 88 Jake Van Emburgh but falling in the second to force a deciding third.
On Court 5, Soendergaard fell 6-4 in the Sooners' only first-set win. He bounced back to take the second 7-5 and rolled to a 3-0 lead in the third.
With Sigouin ahead in the third set on Court 1 and Peck up on Court 3, players from both teams gathered on Court 2 to cheer. It was Peck who reached the finish line first: serving for the match, he went up 40-0, but missed his serve on match point. At 40-15, he and Van Emburgh played a 46-second point, which finally ended as the Sooner's return sailed long and high. That gave Peck the win and gave the Tar Heels a chance to celebrate at Cone-Kenfield for the first time in almost a month, since beating Duke on Feb. 28. The courts have been refinished since then, giving UNC an outstanding playing surface for Friday's homecoming, which followed three consecutive road matches.
"It's good to be playing on some new courts," Paul said. "I think our guys have confidence in the courts. We're happy to be home – home, sweet, home. We've been on the road a lot."
The Tar Heels get one more home match before they leave Chapel Hill again. Miami visits Sunday for an Atlantic Coast Conference double header, with the women playing at 11 a.m. and the men set for 2 p.m.
After that, UNC looks ahead to a March 27 trip to play at second-ranked Wake Forest before returning to Chapel Hill for four home matches in a row. For the complete schedule, click here.
No. 11 UNC 4, No. 20 Oklahoma 1
Singles
Order of finish: 4,6,2,3
1. #37 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) vs. #54 Spencer Papa (OU), 6-4, 3-6, 5-3 UF
2. #49 Alex Bakshi (OU) d. #110 Brian Cernoch (UNC), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
3. #109 Josh Peck (UNC) d. #88 Jake Van Emburgh (OU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
4. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Jochen Bertsch (OU), 6-3, 6-0
5. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) vs. Mason Beiler (OU), 4-6, 7-5, 3-0 UF
6. Mac Kiger (UNC) d. Max Stewart (OU), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
Order of finish: 2,3
1. Blumberg/Boyden (UNC) vs. Papa/Van Emburgh (OU), 5-2
2. Cernoch/Sigouin (UNC) d. Calvo/Bakshi (OU), 6-1
3. Kiger/Soendergaard (UNC) d. Bertsch/Tsorotiotis (OU), 6-2
Records: UNC 11-3, Oklahoma 12-5
"We played more of a complete match," Paul said. "I was pleased with how we competed. We just played better tennis."
UNC claimed the doubles point, speeding to wins on Court 2 (Brian Cernoch and Benjamin Sigouin, 6-1) and Court 3 (Simon Soendergaard and Mac Kiger, 6-2).
#SigouinSlam pic.twitter.com/w6Pu3DHKyD
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 22, 2019
Senior Blaine Boyden picked up the first win in singles, 6-3, 6-0 on Court 4 over Jochen Bertsch. Next to wrap up was Kiger, a sophomore, on Court 6. He beat Max Stewart 6-4, 6-4 to put the Tar Heels up 3-0.
UNC 2 OU 0 Boyden d. Bertsch 6-3, 6-0 pic.twitter.com/Aw9NwpovtG
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 22, 2019
The Sooners grabbed the next win, though. On Court 2, Oklahoma's Alex Bakshi, ranked No. 49, beat Cernoch, a freshman ranked No. 110, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to earn the visitors a point.
That made it 3-1 Carolina with Courts 1, 3 and 5 still in play. On Court 1, No. 37 Sigouin won the first set 6-4, but fell 6-3 to No. 54 Spencer Papa in the second. On Court 3, junior Josh Peck followed the same pattern, winning the first set over No. 88 Jake Van Emburgh but falling in the second to force a deciding third.
On Court 5, Soendergaard fell 6-4 in the Sooners' only first-set win. He bounced back to take the second 7-5 and rolled to a 3-0 lead in the third.
With Sigouin ahead in the third set on Court 1 and Peck up on Court 3, players from both teams gathered on Court 2 to cheer. It was Peck who reached the finish line first: serving for the match, he went up 40-0, but missed his serve on match point. At 40-15, he and Van Emburgh played a 46-second point, which finally ended as the Sooner's return sailed long and high. That gave Peck the win and gave the Tar Heels a chance to celebrate at Cone-Kenfield for the first time in almost a month, since beating Duke on Feb. 28. The courts have been refinished since then, giving UNC an outstanding playing surface for Friday's homecoming, which followed three consecutive road matches.
Final UNC 4 Oklahoma 1 Peck d. Van Emburgh 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 (final point was :46 total) pic.twitter.com/BrNzoQ1a6U
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 22, 2019
"It's good to be playing on some new courts," Paul said. "I think our guys have confidence in the courts. We're happy to be home – home, sweet, home. We've been on the road a lot."
The Tar Heels get one more home match before they leave Chapel Hill again. Miami visits Sunday for an Atlantic Coast Conference double header, with the women playing at 11 a.m. and the men set for 2 p.m.
After that, UNC looks ahead to a March 27 trip to play at second-ranked Wake Forest before returning to Chapel Hill for four home matches in a row. For the complete schedule, click here.
No. 11 UNC 4, No. 20 Oklahoma 1
Singles
Order of finish: 4,6,2,3
1. #37 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) vs. #54 Spencer Papa (OU), 6-4, 3-6, 5-3 UF
2. #49 Alex Bakshi (OU) d. #110 Brian Cernoch (UNC), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
3. #109 Josh Peck (UNC) d. #88 Jake Van Emburgh (OU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
4. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Jochen Bertsch (OU), 6-3, 6-0
5. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) vs. Mason Beiler (OU), 4-6, 7-5, 3-0 UF
6. Mac Kiger (UNC) d. Max Stewart (OU), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
Order of finish: 2,3
1. Blumberg/Boyden (UNC) vs. Papa/Van Emburgh (OU), 5-2
2. Cernoch/Sigouin (UNC) d. Calvo/Bakshi (OU), 6-1
3. Kiger/Soendergaard (UNC) d. Bertsch/Tsorotiotis (OU), 6-2
Records: UNC 11-3, Oklahoma 12-5
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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