North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Tar Heels Excel In Three-Set Matches In Win Over Georgia Tech
April 11, 2008 | Men's Tennis
April 11, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The No. 11-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team dropped the opening set in four singles matches Friday afternoon but rallied to win four of five three-setters in singles play in a 6-1 victory over the No. 50 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The win improved the No. 11 Tar Heels to 18-4 overall on the season and to 8-1 in the ACC. Carolina has now won 14 of its last 15 matches. Georgia Tech fell to 3-7 in the ACC and 13-10 overall this season.
Carolina moved to a quick 1-0 lead as the Tar Heels won at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles by 8-3 scores. The Tar Heels got wins from No. 10-ranked Taylor Fogleman and Chris Kearney at No. 1 and from No. 42-ranked Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy at No. 2.
Clay Donato was the first player off the court in singles play as he defeated Ryan Smith 6-3, 6-3 and in the process improved to 12-3 in dual matches this spring. The overall match then tightened up considerably as Tech claimed the first set in four of the other five singles matches on the court. After the conclusion of the Donato match, it took 90 minutes before Chris Kearney increased the Tar Heel lead to 3-0 as the No. 83-ranked Kearney defeated No. 78-ranked David North 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. The loss was only the second of the spring for North who is now 11-2.
Sophomore Stefan Hardy had the clinching singles win for the Tar Heels at the No. 3 spot as the No. 73-ranked Tar Heel downed Tech's Eliot Potvin 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Hardy broke Potvin's serve at 2-2 in the third set and he went on to win four straight games to claim the clinching singles win just moments after Kearney's match ended. Taylor Fogleman upped the Tar Heel lead to 5-0 as he downed Scott Blackmon 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5 singles. Fogleman improved to a team-leading 20-5 in singles and he rallied to win for the second time this spring after losing the opening set. He also did so against Baylor in the ITA Nationals in February.
Will Plyler then won at No. 6 singles with a come-from-behind victory over Austin Roebuck, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Georgia Tech's win came at No. 1 singles where No. 70-ranked Guillermo Gomez defeated Benjamin Carlotti, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
UNC improves to 29-13 against the Yellow Jackets in the all-time series. The win is Carolina's third straight over Tech. Six of the previous seven matches between Carolina and Tech had been decided by 4-3 scores.
North Carolina will host Clemson Sunday at 1 p.m. on Senior Day. Eight Tar Heel seniors will be honored before their final regular-season home match. This group includes Benjamin Carlotti, Lenny Gullan, Tristan Heinrich, David Stone, Sandeep Daiya, Will Plyler, Jeff Schroder and Karl Wishart.
Final Score: No. 11 North Carolina 6, No. 50 Georgia Tech 1
Doubles (Team winning majority of matches claims one team point)
#1 No. 10 Taylor Fogleman and Chris Kearney (UNC) d. Scott Blackmon and Ryan Smith (GT), 8-3
#2 No. 42 Stefan Hardy and Clay Donato (UNC) d. George Gvelesiani and Guillermo Gomez (GT), 8-3
#3 David North and Eliot Potvin (GT) d. Tristan Heinrich and David Stone (UNC), 8-3
Order of Finish: #2, #3*, #1
*Clinched Point
Singles (One team point for each singles match)
#1 No. 70 Guillermo Gomez (GT) d. Benjamin Carlotti (UNC), 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
#2 No. 83 Chris Kearney (UNC) d. No. 78 David North (GT), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
#3 No. 73 Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. Eliot Potvin (GT), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
#4 Clay Donato (UNC) d. Ryan Smith (GT), 6-3, 6-3
#5 Taylor Fogleman (UNC) d. Scott Blackmon (GT), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
#6 Will Plyler (UNC) d. Austin Roebuck (GT), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: #4, #2, #3*, #5, #6, #1
*Clinching Match
Records: North Carolina 18-4, ACC 8-1; Georgia Tech 13-10, ACC 3-7
Players Mentioned
