North Carolina
Florida State
Men's Tennis Wins ACC Opener
March 18, 2000 | Men's Tennis
March 18, 2000
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - Winning a trio of three-set matches in singles play, North Carolina's 44th-ranked men's tennis team opened its 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference season successfully Saturday afternoon with a 6-1 victory at 45th-ranked Florida State. The win was the fifth in a row for Coach Sam Paul's team and the Tar Heels are now 8-2 overall and 1-0 in the ACC. The Seminoles have lost three matches in a row and are now 9-4 overall and 1-2 in the ACC.
After losing the doubles point to the Seminoles, the Tar Heels charged back to win all six singles matches against the Seminoles at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center. The UNC rally was highlighted by a troika of victories in three sets. In the highlight match, UNC senior Tripp Phillips, ranked #47 nationally, scored a mild upset by beating 28th-ranked Zavier Luscan of Florida State, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Other three-set winners for UNC were senior Assaf Drori at #2 singles over Mike Ingham, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and freshman Trystan Meniane at #5 singles over Chad Mooney, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.
The other three Tar Heels all won their matches in more comfortable fashion. Junior David Cheatwood defeated Jay Travis, 6-4, 6-4 at #3 singles, while sophomore Marcio Petrone returned from an injury which has kept him out in recent matches to beat Noah Schnell, 6-4, 6-4 at #4 singles. Carolina junior Chad Riley finished out the lineup by beating Rodrigo Laub, 6-3, 6-3 at #6 singles.
The Tar Heels' next match is against 55th-ranked Wake Forest Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
#44 North Carolina 6, #45 Florida State 1
Singles (Best 2 of 3 sets)
#2 Assaf Drori (UNC) d. Mike Ingham (FSU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
#3 David Cheatwood (UNC) d. Jay Travis (FSU), 6-3, 6-3
#4 Marcio Petrone (UNC) d. Noah Schnell (FSU), 6-4, 6-4
#5 Trystan Meniane (UNC) d. Chad Mooney (FSU), 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
#6 Chad Riley (UNC) d. Rodrigo Laub (FSU), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles (1 Pro Set, Team Which Wins at least 2 doubles matches earns 1 team point)
#1 Tripp Phillips-Tyne Brownlow (UNC) d. Xavier Luscan-Rodrigo Laub (FSU), 8-3
#2 Jay Travis-Noah Schnell (FSU) d. Marcio Petrone-David Cheatwood (UNC), 9-7
#3 Mike Ingham-Chad Mooney (FSU) d. Greg Archer-Assaf Drori (UNC), 8-2
Records: UNC 8-2, ACC 1-0, FSU 9-4, ACC 1-2
Players Mentioned
