Georgia Edges Men's Tennis, 4-3, In NCAA Round Of 16

Monday, May 17

Orlando, Fla.

10 AM

North Carolina

Georgia (Regional Semifinal)

William Blumberg

Photo by: Manuela Davies/USTA

May 17, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Box Score Final Results (.pdf)

ORLANDO— Eleventh-seeded Georgia won the doubles point and held on during a furious North Carolina rally, hanging on to beat the sixth-seeded Tar Heels, 4-3, in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.

The Bulldogs (17-6) move on and will meet Southeastern Conference rival and third-seeded Tennessee in the quarterfinal round.

Carolina sees its 2021 season, which included an ITA Indoor National championship and a runner-up finish at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, come to an end at 21-4.

"Congratulations to Georgia, they played a great match," Tar Heel head coach Sam Paul said afterward. "I'm really proud of my seniors and the fun ride they've taken us on, but it just wasn't our day. It's very painful, especially for our fifth-year seniors who've had such successful careers at Carolina. But Georgia out-played us today."

The Bulldogs took the doubles point to start the afternoon, just the sixth time this season the Tar Heels have lost the doubles point.

William Blumberg and Brian Cernoch started things off strongly for UNC at No. 1 doubles with a 6-1 win over No. 7-ranked Trent Bryde and Tyler Zink. The Bulldogs bounced back and won at No. 3 over Rinky Hijikata and Benjamin Sigouin, 6-4. The Bulldogs took the deciding doubles match in tiebreaker when Blake Croyder and Billy Rowe edged Mac Kiger and Simon Soendergaard, 7-6 (2).

Georgia took a 2-0 lead when Phillip Henning beat Sigouin, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 3 singles. Minutes later, Cernoch pulled the Tar Heels within a point with a come-from-behind, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles over Croyder.

A few action-packed moments later, and Hijikata tied the score with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win at No. 2 over Zink. The Bulldogs quickly responded with Erik Grevelius' 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over Soendergaard at No. 6.

Blumberg kept the Tar Heels alive by coming from behind in his second-set tiebreaker to beat Bryde, 6-2, 7-6 (5) at No. 1 singles.

The team result came down to the matchup at No. 5 singles, where Rowe had edged Peck, 7-6 (6) in the first set. Peck trailed, 3-1, in the second set after the flurry of singles results filtered in from other courts. Peck's rally fell short as Rowe won the second set, 6-4.

Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs North Carolina
5/17/2021 at Orlando, Fla. (USTA National Campus)
#11 Georgia 4, #6 North Carolina 3

Singles competition
1. #35 William Blumberg (NC) def. #15 Trent Bryde (GA) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
2. #24 Rinky Hijikata (NC) def. #27 Tyler Zink (GA) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
3. #19 Philip Henning (GA) def. #56 Benjamin Sigouin (NC) 6-3, 6-4
4. #60 Brian Cernoch (NC) def. Blake Croyder (GA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Billy Rowe (GA) def. Josh Peck (NC) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
6. Erik Grevelius (GA) def. Simon Soendergaard (NC) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #3 William Blumberg/Brian Cernoch (NC) def. #7 Trent Bryde/Tyler Zink (GA) 6-1
2. #54 Blake Croyder/Billy Rowe (GA) def. #58 Simon Soendergaard/Mac Kiger (NC) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Philip Henning/Erik Grevelius (GA) def. Benjamin Sigouin/Rinky Hijikata (NC) 6-4

Match Notes:
Georgia 17-6; National ranking #11
North Carolina 21-4; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,4,2,6,1,5) 2021 Division I NCAA Tournament - Third Round UNC - #6 National Seed, UGA - #11 National Seed