North Carolina
Vanderbilt
No. 4 Tar Heels Pick Up Road Win At No. 27 Vanderbilt
February 28, 2017 | Men's Tennis
The fourth-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team added another impressive non-conference win to its season résumé Monday afternoon with a 6-1 victory at No. 27 Vanderbilt. The match, played indoors at the Commodores' Currey Tennis Center in Nashville, was final tune-up before the Tar Heels (12-1) begin Atlantic Coast Conference play against Duke on March 7.
After dropping the doubles point in each of their past three matches, the Tar Heels had no trouble locking it up against Vanderbilt. At No. 1, junior Robert Kelly and freshman William Blumberg won 6-3 and then sophomores Anu Kodali and Blaine Boyden earned UNC a 1-0 lead with a 6-3 win at No. 3.
In singles, the Commodores earned the first point to tie the match at 1-1 as No. 61 Cameron Klinger beat Tar Heel freshman Simon Soendergaard 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2.
After that, it was all Carolina, with UNC claiming the other five singles matches. Blumberg, ranked No. 107, beat No. 114 Daniel Valent 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1 to pull the Tar Heels ahead for good. Kelly then took out Baker Newman at No. 3, battling to a 7-6(6) win in the first set but getting a bit more breathing room in a 6-2 second set that clinched the Carolina victory.
At No. 5, Boyden also won in straight sets, beating Billy Rowe 6-3, 7-5 to improve his singles record to 9-0 this spring.
Tar Heel senior Jack Murray, playing at No. 4, dropped the first set 7-5 to Lachlan McPhee, but bounced back for a decisive victory, winning 6-1 and 6-3 in the second and third sets.
At No. 6, UNC sophomore Arturo Schmidt fell 6-3 in the first set but won the second 6-2. With the rest of the matches wrapped up, he and VU's Panu Virtanen played a 10-point tie-breaker, with Schmidt winning 10-5.
Monday's match was the second meeting of the season between UNC and Vanderbilt. The two played in Chapel Hill on Jan. 28 as part of ITA Kick-Off Weekend, with the Tar Heels winning 4-1.
Feb. 27, 2017
Currey Tennis Center, Nashville, Tenn.
No. 4 UNC 6, No. 27 Vanderbilt 1
Doubles
Order of match finish: (1, 3)
1. #16 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC) d. Binet/Klinger (VU), 6-3
2. Murray/Soendergaard (UNC) vs. McPhee/Rowe (VU), 5-3 UF
3. Boyden/Kodali (UNC) def. Virtanen/Baker (VU), 6-3
Singles
Order of match finish: (2,1,3,5,4,6)
1. #107 William Blumberg (UNC) d. #114 Daniel Valent (VU), 7-5, 6-2
2. #61 Cameron Klinger (VU) d. Simon Soendergaard (UNC), 6-2, 6-3
3. #67 Robert Kelly (UNC) d. Baker Newman (VU), 7-6(6), 6-2
4. Jack Murray (UNC) d. Lachlan McPhee (VU), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
5. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Billy Rowe (VU), 6-3, 7-5
6. Arturo Schmidt (UNC) d. Panu Virtanen (VU), 3-6, 6-2, 1-0(10-5)
Records: UNC 12-1, Vanderbilt 8-4
Players Mentioned
