North Carolina
South Carolina State
UNC Opens Up NCAAs with 4-0 Win
May 10, 2008 | Men's Tennis
May 10, 2008
Chapel Hill, NC - The 12-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels proved their status as one of the nation's top 16 programs on Saturday morning, opening up their run in the NCAA tournament with a 4-0 defeat of South Carolina State. Their 12th ranking and subsequent seeding means that they will play host for the weekend to South Carolina State as well as Duke and Arizona State in one of the 16 regional sites that lead to the finals site in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The latter two teams are scheduled to face off on Saturday afternoon for a chance to play the Tar Heels on Sunday in the regional final.
Doubles has been an area of strength for the Tar Heels this season, and Saturday was no different. Seniors Tristan Heinrich and David Stone set the pace for UNC, wasting no time in dispatching David Grund and Jan Langer 8-0. Their win improved UNC to a mark of 19-6 at the number three doubles spot this year, second only to the success the Tar Heels have had at the second doubles position over the course of the season. That mark was improved to 22-3 by the red-hot, 54th-ranked duo of Stefan Hardy and Clay Donato. The 8-1 win not only extended their win streak to ten matches, but delivered a 1-0 lead to UNC. The All-American doubles team of Taylor Fogleman and Chris Kearney was leading 5-1 over Radek Pivonka and Gabriel Meana when their match was halted as the team point had been decided.
"We started well compared to the last few matches we've played, especially Miami a few weeks ago," stated 115th-ranked Tar Heels singles player Ben Carlotti on his team's doubles performance. "That was the main focus of the day, trying to come out very quickly in doubles, because that's not what we did last time."
Singles was a bit more competitive, as the Bulldogs played some close first sets and mounted a few second set comebacks. However, the talent gap between the two teams was just too difficult to overcome for South Carolina State, as consecutive wins by Taylor Fogleman, Stefan Hardy, and Clay Donato made the Bulldogs 0-4 shutout victims in the regional semifinal match. Fogleman's win was his 23rd of the year, while the All-ACC tandem of Hardy and Donato scored their 20th and 19th wins for 2007-08, respectively.
With the loss, South Carolina State's season now comes to an end. The Bulldogs 18-4 season was highlighted by win over Florida A&M that made them MEAC champions, as well as their seed as one of the final 16 selections for the NCAA tournament.
"We had a good year. We've got six freshman, two sophomores, and a junior, so we didn't expect much," said South Carolina State Head Coach Judge. "We got a young team, but we're going to get better."
North Carolina, on the other hand, improves to 20-5, and will advance to face the winner of Saturday afternoon's match between Duke and Arizona State in the regional final on Sunday. The match will be played at 1 p.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
"We'll watch them," UNC Head Coach Sam Paul said of the preparation the Tar Heels would be doing for either Duke or Arizona State. "We'll scout them today, and look forward to playing tomorrow."
#12 North Carolina 4, South Carolina State 0
Records: UNC 20-5, SC St. 18-4
Doubles
#1 Fogleman/Kearney [#6] (UNC) vs. Pivonka/Meana (SC St.) 5-1
#2 Hardy/Donato [#54] (UNC) d. Milivojevic/Dobrotka (SC St.) 8-1
#3 David Stone/Tristan Heinrich (UNC) d. Grund/Jan Langer (SC St.) 8-0
Order of finish: 3, 2*
Singles
#1 Benjamin Carlotti [#115] (UNC) vs. Ivan Milivojevic (SC St.) 6-4, 4-2
#2 Stefan Hardy [#73] (UNC) d. Dmitry Lomakin (SC St.) 6-0, 6-4
#3 Chris Kearney [#91] (UNC) vs. Radek Pivonka (SC St.) 7-6(7), 3-1
#4 Clay Donato (UNC) d. Gabriel Meana (SC St.) 6-3, 6-4
#5 Taylor Fogleman (UNC) d. David Grund (SC St.) 6-1, 6-2
#6 Will Plyler (UNC) vs. Tomas Dobrotka (SC St.) 6-3, 1-5
Order of finish: 5, 2, 4*
Players Mentioned
