Tar Heels Shut Out No. 1 Ohio State For Paul's 500th Win

Sunday, February 16

Madison, Wisc.

4:30 PM

North Carolina

Ohio State

William Blumberg

February 16, 2020 | Men's Tennis

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MADISON, WISC.—The fourth-seeded University of North Carolina men's tennis team beat top-ranked, top-seeded and defending champion Ohio State, 4-0, to give head coach Sam Paul his 500th career victory on Sunday afternoon in the semifinal of the ITA Indoor National Championships.

With the victory, Carolina moves on for a spot at the indoor national title on Monday against second-seeded Southern California, which beat Michigan in another semifinal earlier on Sunday.

UNC and USC will be meeting for the second season in a row. Last year, the Tar Heels beat USC, 4-1, on the road in the NCAA Tournament round of 16, handing the Trojans their first NCAA Tournament loss at Marks Tennis Stadium.

UNC is seeking its second ITA Indoor championship, having beaten Virginia to win it in 2016. Carolina has reached at least the semifinals in four of the last five years.

Paul, the winningest active coach in Atlantic Coast Conference and the winningest coach in school history, is in his 27thseason as the head coach at UNC.

"I didn't even know it was win No. 500," Paul said after the match. "It's all about my players."

It was the ninth win by shutout for the Tar Heels (10-0) this season, five of which have come against ranked opponents in the ITA national team rankings.

Carolina has won three of its last four meetings with Ohio State, including beating the top-ranked Buckeyes twice in the last seven months (also in the 2019 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals).

The Tar Heels won the doubles point when William Blumberg and Brian Cernoch raced to a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles over John McNally and Robert Cash. Simon Soendergaard and Mac Kiger, the nation's third-ranked doubles duo, won 6-4 at No. 2 over Justin Boulais and James Trotter.

Rinky Hijikata and Benjamin Sigouin had their match at No. 3 doubles go unfinished.

Hijikata and Soendergaard both won their singles matches, with Hijikata beating Justin Boulais 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles and Soendergaard picking up a 6-1, 6-2, straight sets win over Cash. Cernoch won the deciding match at No. 5 singles, beating Trotter 6-4, 7-5.

The singles matches of Blumberg (No. 1), Sigouin (No. 2) and Josh Peck (No. 4) went unfinished.

The UNC women won the ITA Indoors title a week ago, capturing their fourth championship in the last eight years.

Tennis Match Results
North Carolina vs Ohio State
ITA Indoor National Championships
2/16/2020 at Madison, Wisc.
#4 North Carolina 4, #1 Ohio State 0

Doubles competition
1. William Blumberg/Brian Cernoch (NC) def. John McNally/Robert Cash (OSU) 6-2
2. #3 Mac Kiger/Simon Soendergaard (NC) def. Justin Boulais/James Trotter (OSU)), 6-4
3. Rinky Hijikata/Benjamin Sigouin (NC) vs. Cannon Kingsley/Kyle Seeling (OSU), 5-4 (unfinished)

Singles competition
1. William Blumberg (NC) vs. John McNally (OSU) 6-2, 1-6, 1-2 (unfinished)
2. #60 Benjamin Sigouin (NC) vs. Cannon Kingsley (OSU) 6-4, 1-6, 0-2 (40-40) (unfinished)
3. Rinky Hijikata (NC) def. Justin Boulais (OSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. #80 Josh Peck (NC) vs. Kyle Seeling (OSU) 2-6, 4-5 (unfinished)
5. Brian Cernoch (NC) def. James Trotter (OSU) 6-4, 7-5
6. Simon Soendergaard def. Robert Cash (OSU) 6-1, 6-2