University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, January 24
Winston-Salem, N.C.
1 PM
North Carolina
1
vs
4
Memphis
Vladislav Melnic
Photo by: Andy Mead
Memphis Downs Men's Tennis, 4-1, In ITA Kickoff First Round
January 24, 2025 | Men's Tennis
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Memphis won the doubles point and went on to defeat North Carolina, 4-1, on Friday in the first round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend at the Wake Forest Tennis Center. It was a rematch of a 2024 NCAA Tournament first-round match between these same teams won by the Tigers in Knoxville, Tenn., last May.
Friday's match was part of a four-team regional hosted by Wake Forest this weekend that also includes the Demon Deacons and Charlotte.
The champion of this weekend's regional will advance to the ITA Indoor Team National Championship in Waco, Texas, next month. Carolina won the indoor national championship in both 2016 and 2021.
Memphis grabbed the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead in the team scoring to start the afternoon, then both teams played well in certain spots in the lineup as singles play began.
Carolina got first-set wins at the first three slots from Logan Zapp (No. 1), Vladislav Melnic (No. 2) and Constantinos Djakouris (No. 3), while the Tigers won the first set at No. 4, 5 and 6 in the lineup.
Melnic won his match at No. 2 over Pablo Alemany in Carolina's lone win of the day. Melnic raced to a 3-0 lead, then lost four consecutive games and trailed, 4-3, before rallying to win the set, 7-5. He cruised, 6-0, in the second set.
Memphis picked up wins at No. 4 over Chris Xu, No. 5 over Anthony Wright and No. 6 over Diego Jarry. Matches went unfinished at No. 1 for Zapp and No. 3 for Djakouris.
The Tar Heels played without sophomore Patrick Schoen in both singles and doubles.
With the win, Memphis improved to 2-2 this season and snapped a two-match losing streak. Carolina dropped to 1-1.
Match Results
Doubles
1.Conor Gannon/Sam Reeve (Memphis) def. Nick Mangiapane/Logan Zapp (UNC), 6-1
2.Michael Kouame/Pablo Alemany (Memphis) def. Vladislav Melnic/Chris Xu (UNC), 6-3
3.Diego Jarry/Anthony Wright (UNC) led Moritz Kudernatsch/Luis Sandoval (Memphis), 5-4 (unfinished)
Singles
1.Logan Zapp (UNC) vs. Conor Gannon (Memphis) 6-4, 4-6 (unfinished)
2.#112 Vladislav Melnic (UNC) def. Pablo Alemany (Memphis) 7-5, 6-0
3.Constantinos Djakouris (UNC) vs. Moritz Kudernatsch (Memphis) 7-5, 3-4 (unfinished)
4.Michael Kouame (Memphis) def. #80 Chris Xu (UNC) 6-4, 6-3
5.Sam Reeve (Memphis) def. #68 Anthony Wright (UNC) 6-4, 6-3
6.Alejandro Vizoso (Memphis) def. Diego Jarry (UNC) 6-1, 6-4
Up Next
• Carolina will continue play in the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the regional third-place match against Charlotte.
Follow Carolina Tennis
Keep up with all the latest Tar Heel tennis news by following @carolinatennis on X and @tarheeltennis on Instagram.
Friday's match was part of a four-team regional hosted by Wake Forest this weekend that also includes the Demon Deacons and Charlotte.
The champion of this weekend's regional will advance to the ITA Indoor Team National Championship in Waco, Texas, next month. Carolina won the indoor national championship in both 2016 and 2021.
Memphis grabbed the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead in the team scoring to start the afternoon, then both teams played well in certain spots in the lineup as singles play began.
Carolina got first-set wins at the first three slots from Logan Zapp (No. 1), Vladislav Melnic (No. 2) and Constantinos Djakouris (No. 3), while the Tigers won the first set at No. 4, 5 and 6 in the lineup.
Melnic won his match at No. 2 over Pablo Alemany in Carolina's lone win of the day. Melnic raced to a 3-0 lead, then lost four consecutive games and trailed, 4-3, before rallying to win the set, 7-5. He cruised, 6-0, in the second set.
Memphis picked up wins at No. 4 over Chris Xu, No. 5 over Anthony Wright and No. 6 over Diego Jarry. Matches went unfinished at No. 1 for Zapp and No. 3 for Djakouris.
The Tar Heels played without sophomore Patrick Schoen in both singles and doubles.
With the win, Memphis improved to 2-2 this season and snapped a two-match losing streak. Carolina dropped to 1-1.
Match Results
Doubles
1.Conor Gannon/Sam Reeve (Memphis) def. Nick Mangiapane/Logan Zapp (UNC), 6-1
2.Michael Kouame/Pablo Alemany (Memphis) def. Vladislav Melnic/Chris Xu (UNC), 6-3
3.Diego Jarry/Anthony Wright (UNC) led Moritz Kudernatsch/Luis Sandoval (Memphis), 5-4 (unfinished)
Singles
1.Logan Zapp (UNC) vs. Conor Gannon (Memphis) 6-4, 4-6 (unfinished)
2.#112 Vladislav Melnic (UNC) def. Pablo Alemany (Memphis) 7-5, 6-0
3.Constantinos Djakouris (UNC) vs. Moritz Kudernatsch (Memphis) 7-5, 3-4 (unfinished)
4.Michael Kouame (Memphis) def. #80 Chris Xu (UNC) 6-4, 6-3
5.Sam Reeve (Memphis) def. #68 Anthony Wright (UNC) 6-4, 6-3
6.Alejandro Vizoso (Memphis) def. Diego Jarry (UNC) 6-1, 6-4
Up Next
• Carolina will continue play in the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the regional third-place match against Charlotte.
Follow Carolina Tennis
Keep up with all the latest Tar Heel tennis news by following @carolinatennis on X and @tarheeltennis on Instagram.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ 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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