Deacons Down Men's Tennis, 5-2

Friday, April 9

Chapel Hill

3 PM

North Carolina

Wake Forest

Simon Soendergaard

Photo by: Dana Gentry

April 9, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Box Score UNC-Wake Forest Final Stats (.pdf)Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL— The 11th-ranked Wake Forest men's tennis team took the doubles point and three straight-set singles wins in a row, eventually beating No. 2 North Carolina, 5-2 on Friday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.

The Demon Deacons improved to 24-5 overall this season, 9-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the win. Carolina fell to 15-2, 7-2 and are in third place in the ACC standings behind Virginia and WFU.

Carolina played without regulars Rinky Hijikata and Josh Peck for a third consecutive match.

The Demon Deacons started the afternoon by taking the doubles point. Matthew Thomson and Siddhant Banthia beat Mac Kiger and Simon Soendergaard, 6-3, at No. 2 doubles. Shortly thereafter, Melios Efstathiou and Taha Baadi beat Adam Neff and Benjamin Sigouin, 6-4, at No. 3.

The matchup between fifth-ranked William Blumberg and Brian Cernoch and No. 13 Eduardo Nava and Henri Squire at No. 1 doubles went unfinished with Blumberg and Cernoch leading, 5-4.

Wake won the first three singles matches, jumping out to early leads with first-set wins at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6. Soendergaard won his first set at No. 4 and Logan Zapp doing the same at No. 5.

The Deacons captured the first singles match when Nava beat Sigouin, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 for a 2-0 team lead. Wake clinched the team victory with back-to-back wins by Siddhant Banthia at No. 6 over Kiger, 6-2, 6-4, and by the 13th-ranked Squire over No. 61 Blumberg at No. 1, 6-4, 6-4.

Soendergaard picked up UNC's first point of the afternoon with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles over Rrezat Cungu. Zapp also won his match, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 over Efstathiou at No. 5, making the score 4-2 WFU.

The final match of the day was at No. 3 singles, where Cernoch fell in a third-set tiebreaker to Baadi. Cernoch dropped the first set, then clawed back to win the second, 6-4, only to see Baadi win a back-and-forth third set, 7-6 (7-4).

The Tar Heels will return to action next weekend with a pair of home matches against Miami (Friday April 16) and Florida State (Saturday April 17).

Tennis Match Results
Wake Forest vs North Carolina 4/9/21 at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
#11 Wake Forest 5, #2 North Carolina 2
Singles competition
1. #13 Henri Squire (WF) def. #61 William Blumberg (NC) 6-4, 6-4
2. #53 Eduardo Nava (WF) def. #80 Benjamin Sigouin (NC) 6-4, 6-1
3. Taha Baadi (WF) def. #66 Brian Cernoch (NC) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
4. #75 Simon Soendergaard (NC) def. Rrezart Cungu (WF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Logan Zapp (NC) def. Melios Efstathiou (WF) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
6. Siddhant Banthia (WF) def. Mac Kiger (NC) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. #5 William Blumberg/Brian Cernoch (NC) vs. #13 Eduardo Nava/Henri Squire (WF) 5-4, unfinished
2. Matthew Thomson/Siddhant Banthia (WF) def. Mac Kiger/Simon Soendergaard (NC) 6-3
3. Melios Efstathiou/Taha Baadi (WF) def. Adam Neff/Benjamin Sigouin (NC) 6-4

Match Notes:
Wake Forest 24-5, 9-1 ACC; National ranking #11 North Carolina 15-2, 7-2 ACC; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,6,1,4,5)