North Carolina
Florida State
No. 6 Tar Heels Reach ACC Tournament Final
April 21, 2007 | Men's Tennis
April 21, 2007
CARY, N.C. - The No. 6-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team ground out a win in the semifinals of the 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Tennis Championship Saturday afternoon at the Cary Tennis Park. A 4-3 decision, clinched by freshman Chris Kearney at the No. 2 seed, against No. 19-rated Florida State advanced the Tar Heels to the championship match Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Carolina advances to the ACC Tournament championship match for the first time since 2002. North Carolina will face Virginia for the second time this season Sunday. The Tar Heels improved to 23-2 overall with the win.
In 2002, North Carolina won its 25th ACC Title when it defeated Georgia Tech, 4-3. The Tar Heels' 25 titles are more than any other ACC school in history; Virginia has won two, including two of the past three crowns. Tomorrow UNC looks to take its 26th ACC Title against the No. 2 Cavaliers who beat Wake Forest 4-0 in the first semifinal Saturday.
"Give Florida State credit," said UNC head coach Sam Paul. "They are a fighting team, one of the best in the country. Once again, the freshman stepped up today. We are ready to play tomorrow."
The Tar Heels grabbed the doubles point for the 23rd time this season, giving the Heels a 1-0 lead. Lenny Gullan and David Stone set the pace for doubles action at the No. 1 position. Gullan and Stone upset the 34th-ranked tandem in the country, Jonathas Sucupira and Sam Chang, 8-5, to give Carolina its first doubles win. Stone earned his 60th career doubles win with the victory. Clinching the doubles point for Carolina were Sebastian Guejman and Stefan Hardy at the second seed. An 8-6 decision over Ytai Abougzir and Bradley Mixson put North Carolina in the lead, 1-0, heading into singles action.
"Winning the doubles point helps," said Paul. "Gullan and Stone really set the tone for the match today."
Singles play looked in favor of the Seminoles when they took five of six first sets. Junior Will Plyler was the only Tar Heel to capture his first set. The Seminoles evened the score 1-1 when No. 67 Abougzir defeated No. 64 Benjamin Carlotti in straight sets at the top seed. Shortly following that decision, the Seminoles took the lead, 2-1, when UNC senior Guejman fell at the five seed to Chris Cloer, 6-3, 7-5.
Plyler took down his opponent, Mixson, in straight sets at No. six. His 6-4, 6-3, victory evened the score once again at 2-2. Florida State took the match lead for the final time of the afternoon when Chang handed Taylor Fogleman a tough loss at the No. 4 seed. Fogleman's match went into two tiebreakers, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), before he fell to his Seminole foe.
Two matches remained when Florida State took a 3-2 lead. At number three was Stefan Hardy, a freshman from Santa Maria, Calif. against Maciek Sykut and at number two was Chris Kearney, a freshman from Irvine, Calif. against Sucupira. Both Hardy and Kearney dropped first sets to their opponents, but both went into final third sets as the Tar Heels continued to persevere, attempting to pull off their second 4-3 win over Florida State this season.
Hardy split sets at the three seed, 4-6, 6-3, before heading into a deciding third set. Sykut jumped off to a 2-1 lead in the final set, but Hardy pushed through and regained the lead, 3-2. Sykut broke Hardy's serve to even the set five all. Hardy in return, broke Sykut's serve to take the 11th game and then served out the match without dropping a point in the 12th game. Hardy's three-set victory, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, tied the match three all, leaving the decision at the two seed.
The final match of the day came down to No. 125 Kearney, the ACC Freshman of the Year, who faced Sucupira at the No. two position. Sucupira took the first set in a marathon tiebreak, 7-6 (12-10), but Kearney's 7-5 second set victory pushed the match into a final third set. Within the first game of the final set, Sucupira showed signs of serious cramping in his legs, calling for injury time twice. Kearney, up love-40 in the fifth game, suddenly began cramping in his left leg. However, Kearney pushed hard and served out the match without dropping a point in the final game to clinch the match, 4-3.
This win marked the eighth 4-3 winningdecision by the Tar Heels in 2007 en route to their 23-2 record. The Heels have also won three 4-2 decisions when they trailed in the remaining match on the last court. In regular season play, North Carolina defeated Florida State, also by a 4-3 decision, in a match clinched at the two position where Hardy won in three sets.
"We are in a fight situation," said Paul about being in many 4-3 situations. "We know how to execute."
The ACC Championship finals begin tomorrow at 11 a.m. when No. 6 North Carolina hopes to avenge a regular season loss to No. 2 Virginia.
No. 6 North Carolina 4, No. 19 Florida State 3
Doubles:
1. Lenny Gullan/David Stone (UNC) d. No. 34 Jonathas Sucupira/Sam Chang (FSU) 8-5
2. Sebastian Guejman/Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. Ytai Abougzir/Bradley Mixson (FSU) 8-6
3. Chris Kearney/Taylor Fogleman (UNC) led Maciek Sykut/Andrew Bailey (FSU) 6-5 DNF
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles:
1.No. 67 Ytai Abougzir (FSU) d. No. 64 Benjamin Carlotti (UNC) 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 125 Chris Kearney (UNC) d. Jonathas Sucupira (FSU) 6-7 (12-10), 7-5, 6-0 *
3. Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. Maciek Sykut (FSU) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
4. Sam Chang (FSU) d. Taylor Fogleman (UNC) 7-6 (704), 7-6 (7-5)
5. Chris Cloer (FSU) d. Sebastian Guejman (UNC) 6-3, 7-5
6. Will Plyler (UNC) d. Bradley Mixson (FSU) 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 5, 6, 4, 3, 2
*Clinched the match
Players Mentioned
