North Carolina
Northwestern
No. 31 Carolina Takes Down Northwestern 5-2
January 27, 2006 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 27, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina men's tennis team moved its record to 3-0 Friday after defeating the No. 51-ranked Northwestern Wildcats 5-2 in a match held indoors at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill. The victory avenges a loss to the Wildcats last season by the same score.
The Tar Heels, ranked 31st in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, got off to a fast start in the match taking the doubles point after victories by the tandems of seniors Raian Luchici and Brad Pomeroy at No. 1 and senior Derek Porter and junior Sebastian Guejman at No. 3. Luchici and Pomeroy, ranked No. 1 in the country in doubles, defeated Northwestern's pairing of Matt Christian and Adam Schaechterle 8-5. Porter and Guejman defeated the Wildcats' Juan Gomez and Willy Lock by the same score.
The Tar Heels continued their early success in singles play as the team earned victories at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots. Sophomore Will Plyler earned Carolina's first singles point at No. 6 after downing Alexey Evstratenkov 6-1, 6-0. Fellow sophomore Benjamin Carlotti, ranked No. 93 in the nation in the latest ITA polls, scored the next point for the Tar Heels at No. 5 by defeating Schaechterle 6-4, 6-2. The match was Carlotti's first dual match action of the year after he missed Carolina's first two matches with a shoulder injury. Guejman would clinch the match at No. 4 for the Tar Heels by defeating Marc Dwyer 6-2, 6-4.
After clinching the victory, the Tar Heels dropped the next two matches at No. 1 and No. 2 before Porter, who spent most of the week sick with the flu, scored Carolina's final point by defeating Juan Gomez in three sets 4-6, 6-0, 7-5.
"We learned some things," said Carolina head coach Sam Paul. "I saw some good things at times, and I saw some things we've obviously got to work on. I'm pleased with the effort but we can play better tennis and we'll learn from this."
The Tar Heels are back in action Sunday when they host a doubleheader at the Cone-Kenfield Center against Gardner-Webb and North Carolina A&T. Action begins against Gardner-Webb at 1 p.m. and the match against North Carolina A&T will follow at 6 p.m.
No. 31 North Carolina 5, No. 51 Northwestern 2
Doubles (team winning the majority of doubles matches wins one point)
No. 1 #1 Raian Luchici / Brad Pomeroy (UNC) d. Matt Christian / Adam Schaechterle (Northwestern) 8-5
No. 2 Marc Dwyer / Christian Tempke (Northwestern) d. Lenny Gullan / David Stone (UNC) 8-6
No. 3 Sebastian Guejman / Derek Porter (UNC) d. Juan Gomez / Willy Lock (Northwestern) 8-5
*Carolina wins doubles point by taking two of three matches
Singles
No. 1 Christian Tempke (Northwestern) d. #5 Raian Luchici (UNC) 7-5, 3-6, (11-9)
*Supertiebreaker played in lieu of third set
No. 2 Willy Lock (Northwestern) d. Brad Pomeroy (UNC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 3 Derek Porter (UNC) d. Juan Gomez (Northwestern) 4-6, 6-0, 7-5
No. 4 Sebastian Guejman (UNC) d. Marc Dwyer (Northwestern) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 Benjamin Carlotti (UNC) d. Adam Schaechterle (Northwestern) 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Will Plyler (UNC) d. Alexey Evstratenkov (Northwestern) 6-1, 6-0
Updated Team Records: UNC 3-0, NU 3-3
Players Mentioned
