North Carolina
Clemson
UNC Beats Clemson 4-1; Two Tar Heels Named All-ACC
April 16, 2009 | Men's Tennis
April 16, 2009
CARY, N.C. - North Carolina cruised to a 4-1 victory against Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament Thursday morning.
Clay Donato and Taylor Fogleman were also named to the All-ACC team on Thursday, which was released during the match.
"It was a great match," said Donato. "The younger guys are starting to play better and feel more confident out there."
The Tar Heels won five of the six matches that were finished, beginning with two straight wins in doubles to secure the team point. Donato and Fogleman notched their 31st win of the year as a pair to open up play, and Brennan Boyajian and Zach Hunter followed with an 8-4 win to give UNC a 1-0 lead. Andrew Crone and Alex Rafiee were serving with a 7-6 lead when their match was halted to start singles play.
Carolina continued to play well in singles. The No. 1 match between Donato and Carlos Alvarez was already in the second set when both players were named to the All-ACC team, but the junior from Canada had already taken much of the drama out of the showdown. Donato won the first three games of the first set, lost the next four, and then won eight straight games to extend UNC's lead to 2-0.
Brennan Boyajian was the next to finish for the Tar Heels, surprising the same player who beat him 6-2, 6-0 just six days earlier. After Kevin Galloway put the Tigers on the board with a win at No. 5 singles, it was Cameron Ahari who came through as a late addition to the singles lineup, beating Wes Moran 6-4, 6-4 to clinch the 4-1 victory for Carolina.
"It was a very good total team win," said team captain Fogleman. "We're excited for the tremendous opportunity we have tomorrow."
The All-ACC selections, which were released at 11 a.m., are Donato's second and Fogleman's first inclusion on the team. Donato and Fogleman are ranked 16th in the nation as a doubles pair, and are ranked 34th and 61st in singles, respectively.
"It's an honor to be chosen again, but I'm focused on the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament right now," said Donato.
UNC takes on top-seeded Virginia tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. The second-round ACC Tournament match will be played at the Cary Tennis Park.
#35 UNC 4, #59 Clemson 1
Records: UNC 16-9 (5-7), Clemson 11-13 (3-9)
Doubles
1: Clay Donato and Taylor Fogleman [#16] (UNC) d. Rok Bizjak and Wes Moran (CU) 8-3
2: Andrew Crone and Alex Rafiee (UNC) vs. Carlos Alvarez and Gera Boryachinskiy (CU) 7-6
3: Brennan Boyajian and Zach Hunter (UNC) d. Ike Belk and Kevin Fleck (CU) 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1: Clay Donato [#34] (UNC) d. Carlos Alvarez [#124] (CU) 6-4, 6-0
2: Taylor Fogleman [#61] (UNC) vs. Rok Bizjak (CU) 5-7, 6-1, 5-3
3: Brennan Boyajian (UNC) d. Ike Belk (CU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
4: Kevin Fleck (CU) vs. Andrew Crone (UNC) 7-5, 1-6, 3-2
5: Kevin Galloway (CU) d. Luke Mojica (UNC) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
6: Cameron Ahari (UNC) d. Wes Moran (CU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 5, 6
Players Mentioned
