North Carolina
South Carolina
Tar Heels Prevail In Border Battle, 6-1
February 17, 2007 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 17, 2007
Photo Gallery from Alan Billings 
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - For four straight years, the University of North Carolina men's tennis team has defeated the University of South Carolina Gamecocks in tough "border battles." Carolina, ranked No. 21 nationally, and South Carolina, ranked No. 36 nationally, faced off in a head-to-head battle Saturday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill. This time, lone senior Sebastian Guejman clinched the match for the second year in a row, freshman Chris Kearney handed Ivan Cressoni his first loss of the season and the Tar Heels remain undefeated, posting an impressive 7-0 start of the season. The Gamecocks, on their first road trip of the season, fall to 6-2 with the loss.
Carolina has not lost a doubles point this season, and this rivalry battle was no exception. The duo of Taylor Fogleman and Kearney finished first with a striking 8-4 win over Pedro Rodrigues and Joseph Veeder at the three spot. Fogleman and Kearney remain undefeated in dual action thus far with a 6-0 record. The Gamecocks pulled out a win at the number one spot as Lenny Gullan and David Stone fell 8-5 to South Carolina's Pedro Campos and Yevgeny Supeko. The doubles point came down to the second seed where Guejman and Stefan Hardy took on Cressoni and Thomas Stoddard. The Tar Heels triumphed with an 8-6 win, giving Carolina a 1-0 head start going into singles. Guejman and Hardy also remain undefeated in dual competition, posting a 6-0 record as well.
Fogleman was first off the court in singles after a 50 minute victorious match gave the Tar Heels a 2-0 advantage. At the five spot, Fogleman downed David Wolff in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0. Kearney followed right behind with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ivan Cressoni, who was 4-0 in dual meets before today's match. Kearney now stands 12-2 overall in singles. The deciding match came down to a point for point battle of who would win first between the one and three seeds. Guejman came out first win a 6-2, 6-4 win over Pedro Campos at the three seed. Guejman clinched the South Carolina match last year in a third set victory over Dmitry Babenko at the five seed; Guejman is now 3-0 against the Gamecocks in his career.
Following less than three minutes later, Benjamin Carlotti gave Carolina a 5-0 lead with a win at the one seed. Carlotti ousted Pedro Rodrigues 6-2, 6-4; Carlotti is now 14-5 on the season. South Carolina's only point of the match came in a three-set win at the two seed. Freshman Stefan Hardy dropped only his second match of the season with a 6-2, 2-6, 2-6 loss to Yevgeny Supeko. Junior Will Plyler overcame a tough match to defeat Spencer Feldman at the six seed with a 7-6 (2), 7-5 win.
Head coach Sam Paul was pleased with the outcome of today's match and the continued improvement of this young team. "We definitely did some things better than last weekend," said Paul. "South Carolina is a very good team; they always have a good team. So I'm proud of the guys. There are still some situations that we are seeing that we can improve upon."
The No. 21 Tar Heels continue action with a trip to VCU on February 25. Carolina returns home March 4 for a doubleheader against Navy and James Madison.
No. 21 UNC 6, No. 36 USC 1
Doubles:
1. Pedro Campos/Yevgeny Supeko (USC) d. Lenny Gullan/David Stone (UNC) 8-5
2. Sebastian Guejman/Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. Ivan Cressoni/Thomas Stoddard (USC) 8-6
3. Taylor Fogleman/Chris Kearney (UNC) d. Pedro Rodrigues/Joseph Veeder (USC) 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles:
1. No. 25 Benjamin Carlotti (UNC) d. Pedro Rodrigues (USC) 6-2, 6-4
2. Yevgeny Supeko (USC) d. Stefan Hardy (UNC) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. Sebastian Guejman (UNC) d. Pedro Campos (USC) 6-2, 6-4 *
4. Chris Kearney (UNC) d. Ivan Cressoni (USC) 6-2, 6-2
5. Taylor Fogleman (UNC) d. David Wolff (USC) 6-1, 6-0
6. Will Plyler (UNC) d. Spencer Feldman (USC) 7-6 (2), 7-5
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 1, 2, 6
*Clinched the match
Players Mentioned
