North Carolina
Notre Dame
Men's Tennis Wins At Notre Dame To Improve to 10-0
March 7, 2021 | Men's Tennis
Hijikata, a sophomore, posted a straight-sets win (7-5, 6-1) at No. 1 singles over the sixth-ranked player in the nation, Richard Ciamarra. Zapp, a freshman, clinched the match with a 7-6, 6-3 win over Brandon Ancona at No. 6 singles.
Brian Cernoch and Mac Kiger also won their singles matches to lead to the victory after the Tar Heels had lost the doubles point to begin the afternoon. Cernoch beat Tristan McCormick 6-4, 6-4 at No. 3, and Kiger downed Connor Fu by a 6-4, 6-4 score at No. 5. Benjamin Sigouin lost his match at No. 2 singles, and Josh Peck's match at No. 4 went unfinished.
The Fighting Irish started the afternoon by winning the doubles point. No. 19-ranked Axel Nefve and McCormick beat UNC's fifth-ranked team of Kiger and Simon Soendergaard, 6-3, and Brandon Ancona and William Howells downed Adam Neff and Brian Cernoch, 7-5.
The Tar Heels, ranked No. 1 in the Oracle/ITA rankings for the last three weeks, snapped the Irish's three-match winning streak and improved to 10-0 this season, 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Notre Dame fell to 8-7, 3-3. The Fighting Irish had entered Sunday's match having beaten Louisville, Boston College and Duke after starting the ACC season with back-to-back losses.
After playing seven consecutive matches on the road, Carolina will return home to host Boston College on Friday March 12.
Tennis Match Results
North Carolina vs Notre Dame Men's Tennis Mar 07, 2021 at Notre Dame, IN
(Eck Tennis Pavilion)
North Carolina 4, Notre Dame 2
Singles competition
1. #55 Rinky Hijikata (NC) def. #6 Richard Ciamarra (ND) 7-5, 6-1
2. Axel Nefve (ND) def. #41 Benjamin Sigouin (NC) 6-3, 6-1
3. Brian Cernoch (NC) def. Tristan McCormick (ND) 6-4, 6-4
4. #100 Josh Peck (NC) vs. Matthew Che (ND) unfinished
5. Mac Kiger (NC) def. Connor Fu (ND) 6-4, 6-4
6. Logan Zapp (NC) def. Brandon Ancona (ND) 7-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #19 Axel Nefve/Tristan McCormick (ND) def. #5 Simon Soendergaard/Mac Kiger (NC) 6-3
2. Richard Ciamarra/Matt Gamble (ND) vs. Rinky Hijikata/Benjamin Sigouin (NC) 5-5, unfinished
3. Brandon Ancona/William Howells (ND) def. Adam Neff/Brian Cernoch (NC) 7-5
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles ()
FINAL SCORE UNC 4 Notre Dame 2 Freshman Logan Zapp clinches the comeback 7-6, 6-3 to propel Carolina to 10-0! pic.twitter.com/uhz1gsNplH
— UNC Men's Tennis 🐏🎾 (@carolinatennis) March 7, 2021
Players Mentioned
