No. 3 TCU Edges Men's Tennis, 4-3

Sunday, February 5

Chapel Hill

2:15 PM

North Carolina

TCU

Ryan Seggerman
University of North Carolina Men's Tennis v TCU
Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center
Chapel Hill, NC
Sunday, February 5, 2023

Graduate student Ryan Seggerman won a three-set decision at No. 2 singles.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 5, 2023 | Men's Tennis

Box Score Final Results

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—The 14th-ranked University of North Carolina men's tennis team played one of its better matches of the season but dropped a 4-3 decision to third-ranked TCU on Sunday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.

The Tar Heels clawed back and took the lead twice in singles play after the Horned Frogs had won the doubles point. TCU's Lui Maxted lost the first set to Anuj Watane but came back to win the clinching match at No. 5 singles, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

The Horned Frogs improved to 7-0 with the win, while Carolina dropped to 5-2. Both teams will be part of the 16-team field at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on February 17-20 in Chicago.

"Credit TCU, they played a good doubles point," Tar Heel head coach Sam Paul said afterward. "We're just not playing complete matches yet in doubles, so we've got to keep working on that a little bit.

"I'm glad how we responded in singles," Paul continued. "We had some bright spots. I'm excited about our spring. It's early, it's February, we've just got to keep working hard."

TCU grabbed the doubles point by winning two of three matches to start the afternoon.

Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives beat Will Jansen and Karl Poling, 6-3, at No. 3. Carolina bounced back and won at No. 1 when Ryan Seggerman and Casey Kania beat the nation's fourth-ranked team, Sander Jong and Maxted. TCU's Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba beat Brian Cernoch and Benjamin Kittay, 6-4, at No. 2 to seal the doubles point and a 1-0 Horned Frog lead.

The Tar Heels tied the score at 1-1 when Poling quickly grabbed a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles over Tomas Jirousek. Shortly thereafter, TCU retook the lead when Fomb, ranked No. 28 nationally, beat Jansen, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 3.

Cernoch and Seggerman won back-to-back matches for Carolina to seize the lead right back at 3-2. Cernoch lost the first set, 6-2, then roared back for his biggest win of the season so far over the nation's ninth-ranked player, Jake Fearnley, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 1 singles. Seggerman, ranked ninth nationally, followed with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 win at No. 2 over Jong.

The back-and-forth momentum swings continued when Gorzny beat Chris Li, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 6 to tie the score at 3-all.

The Tar Heels will return to action next Sunday February 12 at home at 1 p.m. against Elon.

UNC 2 TCU 2 Cernoch d. Fearnley (#8) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 pic.twitter.com/qcUeMV6jGx
— Carolina Men's Tennis 🐏🎾 (@carolinatennis) February 5, 2023

UNC 3 TCU 2 Seggerman d. Jong 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 pic.twitter.com/eKhi5ERZHY
— Carolina Men's Tennis 🐏🎾 (@carolinatennis) February 5, 2023

Tennis Match Results
TCU vs North Carolina 02/05/2023 at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
#3 TCU 4, #14 North Carolina 3

Singles competition
1. Brian Cernoch (NC) def. #8 Jake Fearnley (TCU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. #9 Ryan Seggerman (NC) def. Sander Jong (TCU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. #28 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Will Jansen (NC) 6-4, 7-5
4. Karl Poling (NC) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Anuj Watane (NC) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
6. Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Chris Li (NC) 7-5, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Ryan Seggerman/Casey Kania (NC) def. #4 Sander Jong/Lui Maxted (TCU) 6-4
2. Jake Fearnley/Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Brian Cernoch/Benjamin Kittay (NC) 6-4
3. Sebastian Gorzny/Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Will Jansen/Karl Poling (NC) 6-3

Match Notes:
TCU 6-0; National ranking #3
North Carolina 6-1; National ranking #14

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,3,1,2,6,5)
T-3:03 A-425