Tar Heels Blank Elon To Advance In ITA Kickoff Weekend

Saturday, January 25

Chapel Hill

Noon

North Carolina

Elon

Freshman Rinky Hiijikata made his Tar Heel debut on Saturday.

Photo by: Dana Gentry

January 25, 2020 | Men's Tennis

Photos

CHAPEL HILL—University of North Carolina defeated Elon on Saturday afternoon, 4-0, at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in their first match during ITA Kickoff Weekend.

To begin Saturday's match, Carolina dominated during doubles play, clinching the doubles point to advance the overall score to 1-0. Duo William Blumberg and Brian Cernoch finished first on court one with a 6-1 win at No. 1 singles, and No. 7 Mac Kiger and Simon Soendergaard finished moments later on court two with a 6-2 win at No. 2 singles.

Freshman Rinky Hijikata made his Tar Heel debut at No. 3 doubles, teamed with Benjamin Sigouin. The pair was leading their doubles match, 5-2, when it was called early after UNC had won the doubles point.

On to singles play, sophomore Brian Cernoch finished first in singles on court three with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles. Shortly thereafter, William Blumberg finished second, also 6-0 in both sets, at No. 1. To secure the win for the Tar Heels, Mac Kiger finished 6-1 in both of his sets at No. 6.

Hijikata (6-3, 1-1 uf at No. 2 singles), No. 82 Josh Peck (6-0, 5-2 uf at No. 4 singles) and Simon Soendergaard (7-5, 1-0 uf) all were leading their matches at the point the Tar Heels clinched the match victory.

When asked about Sunday's match and what he'll tell the team, head coach Sam Paul said, "We'll talk about some things we saw today. We'll talk about Georgia State a little bit since we watched them play a little today. It's so early in the season. We've got to keep getting better every day."

In the first match of the day, Old Dominion put up a strong fight against Georgia State, but ultimately fell short, losing 4-2.

The championship match between Carolina and Georgia State will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Old Dominion and Elon will play the consolation match at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning.

The winner between Carolina and Georgia State will advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship Feb. 14-17 in Madison, Wisc.

Singles Competition
1. William Blumberg (NC) def. Kyle Frankel (Elon) 6-0, 6-0
2. Rinky Hijikata (NC) vs. Nicholas Condos (Elon) 6-3, 1-1 uf
3. Brian Cernoch (NC) def. Camilo Ponce (Elon) 6-0, 6-0
4. #82 Josh Peck (NC) vs. Chung-Han Tsai (Elon) 6-0, 5-2 uf
5. Simon Soendergaard (NC) vs. Jacob Bicknell (Elon) 7-5, 1-0 uf
6. Mac Kiger (NC) def. Sam Dively (Elon) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles Competition
1. William Blumberg/Brian Cernoch (NC) def. Kyle Frankel/Camilo Ponce (Elon) 6-1
2. #7 Mac Kiger/Simon Soendergaard (NC) def. Chung-Han Tsai/Nicholas Condos (Elon) 6-2
3. Benjamin Sigouin/Rinky Hijikata (NC) vs. Jacob Bicknell/Sam Dively (Elon) 5-2 uf

Match Notes
Elon 0-3
North Carolina 3-0; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (3,1,6)
T-1:30 A- 103