University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Navy
Tar Heels Sink Navy 7-0
February 10, 2012 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 10, 2012
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-- - No. 17 North Carolina knocked off Navy in dual match action Friday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. After a grueling schedule of five consecutive Top-25 opponents, the Tar Heels righted the ship against the Midshipmen by a 7-0 margin. Carolina improves to 3-3 with the win, while Navy drops to 5-2.
"We came in a little banged up, and Navy's got a better team than they've had in years past," said Coach Sam Paul. "Some guys played better and did well with the concepts we talked about after the Texas match, but we just need to keep working."
Carolina jumped out to an early lead with a doubles point victory, led by Brennan Boyajian and Esben Hess-Olesen at No. 1 doubles, who dismissed Navy's Marcus Rebersak and Anderson Walls (8-1). Teammates Joey Burkhardt and William Parker won as well, knocking off Blake Daniel and Chris Kenney by a 8-3 score at #3 doubles. Calvin Mack and Peter McDonald of Navy then bested Oystein Steiro and Cameron Ahari (8-2) in what would be the only blemish on the day for Carolina.
In singles play, Oystein Steiro quickly rebounded, efficiently beating Blake Daniel (6-1, 6-2) at No. 5 singles. Brennan Boyajian, after dropping a tough match against Texas last Sunday, came back strong as well, dismissing Marcus Rebersak (6-2, 6-3) at No. 1 singles. Parker quickly followed suit at No. 4 singles, knocking off Tyler Burnett (6-3, 6-2).
"Brennan came out and played solid today at both singles and doubles," said Coach Sam Paul. "I was really happy with his performance today and how he bounced back from the Texas loss."
The remaining three singles matches went to a third-set super tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets. After dropping the first set at No. 2 singles, Esben Hess-Olesen roared back to seal the win (5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (2)). Burkhardt's match fared similarly, as the St. Augustine, Fla. native battled from behind to knock off the previously undefeated Calvin Mark (6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (5)). Taylor Meyer then rounded out the Tar Heel effort with a No. 6 singles victory, beating Nicholas Gutsche (6-3, 6-7, 1-0 (7)).
Carolina now enjoys a 16-day break before its next contest at No. 3 Ohio State, and Paul is thankful for the time off.
"It's a great time for us to train. We know exactly where we are, and it's a great time for us to get stronger and fitter and work on patterns of play," Paul said. "We're still going to be looking at video tape and teaching these guys to play the match the way they want to play their match too."
The Tar Heels will show down with the Buckeyes on February 26th at 5:00 PM at the Jesse Owens West Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio.
#17 North Carolina 7, Navy 0
Doubles (Team Winning Majority Of Matches Earns One Team Point) Order of match finish: 1, 3, 2 1. Brennan Boyajian and Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC) d. Marcus Rebersak and Anderson Walls (Navy), 8-12. Calvin Mark and Peter McDonald (Navy) d. Oystein Steiro and Cameron Ahari (UNC), 8-2
3. Joey Burkhardt and William Parker (UNC) d. Blake Daniel and Chris Kenney (Navy) 8-3Singles (One Team Point Per Singles Match)
Order of match finish: 5, 1, 4, 2, 3, 61. Brennan Boyajian (UNC) d. Marcus Rebersak (Navy), 6-2, 6-3
2. Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC) d. Peter McDonald (Navy), 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (3)3. Joey Burkhardt (UNC) d. Calvin Mark (Navy), 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (5)
4. William Parker (UNC) d. Tyler Burnett (Navy), 6-3, 6-25. Oystein Steiro (UNC) d. Daniel Blake (Navy), 6-1, 6-2
6. Taylor Meyer (UNC) d. Nicholas Gutsche (Navy), 6-3, 6-7, 1-0 (7)Records: North Carolina 3-3, Navy 5-2
Players Mentioned
