North Carolina
Virginia
No. 1 Virginia Defeats No. 17 North Carolina 5-2
April 3, 2011 | Men's Tennis
April 3, 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- Despite two statement singles wins, the North Carolina men's tennis team dropped their first ACC match of the season Sunday, losing to the No. 1-ranked Virginia Cavaliers 5-2.
The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Tar Heels (10-5, 5-1 ACC), while the Cavaliers (22-0, 7-0) stayed perfect. Florida transfer Joey Burkhardt paced the Tar Heels with wins in singles and doubles. Jose Hernandez, ranked No. 38 by the ITA, showed why he's one of the top young players in the nation, notching a defiant win at No. 1 singles. The Dominican Republic native came from a set down to defeat reigning ACC Player of the Week and No. 5 Michael Shabaz 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Virginia took the early lead after grabbing a tightly contested doubles point behind wins at No. 1 and 3 doubles. Twenty-first ranked Brennan Boyajian and Hernandez couldn't capitalize against No. 2 Drew Courtney and Michael Shabaz, losing the No. 1 flight 8-5, while Cameron Ahari and Alex Rafiee suffered the same fate in the third flight. Burkhardt and Stefan Hardy, ranked 59th by the ITA, picked up a solid 8-5 win over Sanam Singh and Jarmere Jenkins.
In singles, the Tar Heels mounted a rally when Burkhardt won his match over No. 44 Jarmere Jenkins in the fourth flight, 6-3, 6-1. With the win, Burkhardt tied the match at one apiece.
Unfortunately the rest of the Tar Heels failed to capitalize on the momentum, and a short time later Virginia scored wins at five, three and two to clinch the match. Hernandez and Shabaz played the full three sets, allowing the Tar Heel sophomore to end the overall match on a high note.
No. 1 UVA 5, #17 UNC 2
Records: UVA 22-0 (7-0), UNC 10-5 (5-1)
Singles:
1. #38 Jose Hernandez (UNC) d. #5 Michael Shabaz (UVA) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
2. #2 Alex Domijan (UVA) d. Brennan Boyajian (UNC) 6-1, 6-3
3. #25 Sanam Singh (UVA) d. Stefan Hardy (UNC) 6-3, 6-2
4. Joey Burkhardt (UNC) d. #44 Jarmere Jenkins (UVA) 6-3, 6-1
5. #37 Drew Courtney (UVA) d. William Parker (UNC) 6-3, 6-4
6. Julen Uriguen (UVA) d. Taylor Meyer (UNC) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles:
1.#2 Drew Courtney and Michael Shabaz (UVA) d. #21 Brennan Boyajian and Jose Hernandez (UNC) 8-5
2. #59 Joey Burkhardt and Stefan Hardy (UNC) d. Sanam Singh and Jarmere Jenkins (UVA) 8-5
3. Alex Domijan and Steven Eelkman Rooda (UVA) d. Cameron Ahari and Alex Rafiee (UNC) 8-3
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 4, 5, 3, 2, 6, 1
Players Mentioned
