North Carolina
Florida State
Tar Heels Extend Win Streak to Eight Against FSU
March 22, 2008 | Men's Tennis
March 21, 2008
Tallahassee, FL - The 13th-ranked UNC Tar Heels scored a huge victory Friday evening over 7th-ranked Florida State, edging the Seminoles in a closely contested match that kept them undefeated in ACC play and extended their win streak to eight. The Tar Heels have also won eight straight matches in Tallahassee, their last loss a 6-3 result in March 1983, when each doubles match counted as one point. The win marked the second time this season that North Carolina has rallied from a 0-1 deficit following doubles play.
The Tar Heels began the match in a hole, as an 8-6 win by David Stone and Tristan Heinrich couldn't offset two tough losses at the one and two doubles spots. The combined game score of all the doubles matches was a close 24-23 in Florida State's favor, as Taylor Fogleman and Chris Kearney fell 9-7 to fellow ranked opponents Jean-Yves Aubone and Clint Bowles, while Stefan Hardy and Clay Donato were tied 8-8 in their match before succumbing to Sam Chang and Maciek Sykut in a tiebreaker.
Immediately after doubles, however, the Tar Heels bounced back with two wins at the fifth and second singles spots. Fogleman was the first to put UNC on the board with a 6-3, 6-2 win, followed by Hardy, who dispatched 58th-ranked freshman phenom Clint Bowles 6-1, 6-2. Florida State then responded forcefully, reeling off two victories of their own at the third and first singles spots to put themselves one singles win shy of a team victory. Thanks to the efforts of Will Plyler and Donato, the Tar Heels kept it that way. Plyler evened the match at 3-3 with a 6-3, 6-3 win, paving the way for Donato to clinch the match at the fourth singles spot. Donato seized the opportunity, battling back from a first set loss to defeat Maciek Sykut 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
UNC will now face 20th-ranked Miami in Coral Gables on Sunday at 12 PM ET. The match marks the third straight top-30 opponent that the Tar Heels have faced since the latest ITA rankings were released on March 18th.
The Tar Heels are now 8-0 in matches against Florida State played in Tallahassee, Fla. since Sam Paul took over as head coach in 1993-94. The Tar Heels have won against the Seminoles in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 under Coach Paul in Tallahassee.
#13 North Carolina 4, #7 Florida State 3
Records: UNC 12-3, Florida State 10-3
Doubles
#1 Aubone/Bowles (FSU) [#27] d. Fogleman/Kearney [#4] (UNC) 9-7
#2 Chang/Sykut (FSU) d. Hardy/Donato [#43] (UNC) 9-8(4)
#3 David Stone/Tristan Heinrich (UNC) d. Mixson/Drew Bailey (FSU) 8-6
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
#1 Jean-Yves Aubone [#40] (FSU) d. Benjamin Carlotti [#112] (UNC) 6-3, 6-1
#2 Stefan Hardy [#78] (UNC) d. Clint Bowles [#58] (FSU) 6-1, 6-2
#3 Sam Chang (FSU) d. Chris Kearney [#71] (UNC) 6-2, 6-3
#4 Clay Donato (UNC) d. Maciek Sykut (FSU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
#5 Taylor Fogleman (UNC) d. Brad Mixson (FSU) 6-3, 6-2
#6 Will Plyler (UNC) d. Bobby Deye (FSU) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 1, 6, 4
Players Mentioned
