Saturday, May 11
Los Angeles
5:00 PM (ET)
North Carolina
4
at
1
Southern California (NCAA Round of 16)
The Tar Heels won 4-1 at USC Saturday to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fifth time in the past six years.
Tar Heels Headed To Quarterfinals After Historic Win At USC
May 11, 2019 | Men's Tennis
North Carolina claimed a historic men's tennis win Saturday to punch a ticket to Florida, beating host Southern California 4-1 to advance to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the fifth time in the past six years. It was UNC's first-ever win over the Trojans, 21-time NCAA champions, and the first time any team has beaten USC on its home court in an NCAA Tournament match.
"I'm extremely proud of my guys," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "It was such a great effort and they showed such resilience.
"Southern Cal has an incredible program and they were tremendous hosts to us this week. We're fortunate to be moving on after beating a great team."
UNC improved to 21-6 with the win, which avenged a Round of 16 loss to the Trojans last year. USC (22-8) had won all five previous matchups, three of them in NCAA Tournament play.
The Tar Heels will face top-seeded Ohio State on Thursday in a quarterfinal match at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Three Carolina players were racing to clinch the match, but it was freshman Brian Cernoch who got there first, winning a tiebreaker on Court 4 to set off the celebration. At the same time, junior William Blumberg led 5-2 in the third set on Court 1 and senior Blaine Boyden was tied at 5-5 in the third set on Court 5.
UNC opened strong by claiming the doubles point. Sophomore Mac Kiger and junior Simon Soendergaard won 6-2 on Court 3, then the Trojans took a 6-2 win on Court 2, putting all eyes on the Court 1 battle between Tar Heels Blumberg and Boyden, ranked No. 13, and USC's 10th-ranked team of Brandon Holt and Riley Smith. The Tar Heels pulled out the win 6-4 to go up 1-0.
The first singles match to finish went to USC, with Kiger falling in straight sets on Court 6. Tar Heel sophomore Benjamin Sigouin won in straight sets on Court 2, beating #24 Daniel Cukierman 6-0, 6-4 to put Carolina ahead 2-1. UNC junior Josh Peck then won on Court 3 – 6-4, 6-4 – to set up the exciting finish.
"It took a total team effort to win the doubles point, and we played well in singles," Paul said. "It was a great collegiate tennis match and we're happy to be moving on."
This is the first year that Round of 16 matches have been held at campus sites instead of at the championship site. As the No. 8 seed, USC earned the right to host the ninth-seeded Tar Heels. UNC is one of just two teams (No. 10 TCU is the other) to have won on the road to reach the quarterfinals. The other six teams to advance all hosted Round of 16 matches.
For a look at the full bracket click here.
North Carolina 4, Southern California 1
Singles
Order of finish: 6,2,3,4
Doubles
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Records: UNC 21-6, USC 22-8
"I'm extremely proud of my guys," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "It was such a great effort and they showed such resilience.
"Southern Cal has an incredible program and they were tremendous hosts to us this week. We're fortunate to be moving on after beating a great team."
UNC improved to 21-6 with the win, which avenged a Round of 16 loss to the Trojans last year. USC (22-8) had won all five previous matchups, three of them in NCAA Tournament play.
The Tar Heels will face top-seeded Ohio State on Thursday in a quarterfinal match at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Three Carolina players were racing to clinch the match, but it was freshman Brian Cernoch who got there first, winning a tiebreaker on Court 4 to set off the celebration. At the same time, junior William Blumberg led 5-2 in the third set on Court 1 and senior Blaine Boyden was tied at 5-5 in the third set on Court 5.
Boyden held on 3rd game Pt, 40-40 pt to clinch Dbls pic.twitter.com/wjjNWCDXS4
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) May 11, 2019
UNC opened strong by claiming the doubles point. Sophomore Mac Kiger and junior Simon Soendergaard won 6-2 on Court 3, then the Trojans took a 6-2 win on Court 2, putting all eyes on the Court 1 battle between Tar Heels Blumberg and Boyden, ranked No. 13, and USC's 10th-ranked team of Brandon Holt and Riley Smith. The Tar Heels pulled out the win 6-4 to go up 1-0.
The first singles match to finish went to USC, with Kiger falling in straight sets on Court 6. Tar Heel sophomore Benjamin Sigouin won in straight sets on Court 2, beating #24 Daniel Cukierman 6-0, 6-4 to put Carolina ahead 2-1. UNC junior Josh Peck then won on Court 3 – 6-4, 6-4 – to set up the exciting finish.
UNC 3 USC 1 Josh Peck 6-4, 6-4 over Verboven, the ITA Oracle Masters Singles Champ! pic.twitter.com/8Y7JNOlAUR
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) May 11, 2019
"It took a total team effort to win the doubles point, and we played well in singles," Paul said. "It was a great collegiate tennis match and we're happy to be moving on."
This is the first year that Round of 16 matches have been held at campus sites instead of at the championship site. As the No. 8 seed, USC earned the right to host the ninth-seeded Tar Heels. UNC is one of just two teams (No. 10 TCU is the other) to have won on the road to reach the quarterfinals. The other six teams to advance all hosted Round of 16 matches.
For a look at the full bracket click here.
First Super Regional Road Win, First Win over USC! #NCAATennis ✈️ ➡️Orlando #Elite pic.twitter.com/mwErJ4nzSe
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) May 12, 2019
North Carolina 4, Southern California 1
Singles
Order of finish: 6,2,3,4
- #6 Brandon Holt (USC) vs. #19 William Blumberg (UNC) – 6-4, 6-7 (4), 2-5 susp.
- #39 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) def. #24 Daniel Cukierman (USC) – 6-0, 6-4
- #110 Josh Peck (UNC) def. #40 Laurens Verboven (USC) – 6-4, 6-4
- #116 Brian Cernoch (UNC) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5)*
- Jake Sands (USC) vs. Blaine Boyden (UNC) – 3-6, 6-3, 5-5 susp.
- Mor Bulis (USC) def. Mac Kiger (UNC) – 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
Order of finish: 3,2,1
- #13 Blumberg/Boyden (UNC) def. #10 Holt/R. Smith (USC), 6-4
- Jaede /Verboven (USC) def. #90 Cernoch/Sigouin (UNC), 6-2
- Kiger/Soendergaard (UNC) def. Cukierman/T. Smith (USC), 6-2
Records: UNC 21-6, USC 22-8
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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