The No. 11 North Carolina men’s tennis team (17-2, 4-1 ACC) continued their home winning streak at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center with a 5-2 win over No. 27 Florida State (13-6, 3-2 ACC).
What happened?
All three Tar Heel doubles teams defeated the Seminoles to gain the point for doubles. The No. 16 team of first-year William Blumberg and junior Robert Kelly were the first to finish with a 6-2 win.
All but two of the North Carolina singles players won their matches. The first singles match to finish was on Court 1 with No. 31 Blumberg crushing No. 52 Aziz Dougaz 6-1, 6-3. Second to finish was Tar Heel Simon Soendergaard, who fell to Seminole Lucas Poullain 6-3, 6-1. Last to finish was senior Tar Heel, No. 19 Ronnie Schneider, against junior No. 125 Guy Iradukunda, as their match was the only to go into a third set. Schneider lost the first set 7-5, came back in the second 6-4 and the final set on ended in a tiebreak, resulting in a 7-6(3) loss for Schneider.
Who stood out?
Kelly struggled against junior Jose Garcia, as the two were tied three times over the course of the first set, which Kelly won 7-5. Garcia, a vocal player, trailed close behind Kelly throughout the second set, as well. The Seminole from Delray Beach, Florida later pulled ahead 6-5, which Kelly matched 6-6, leading to a second set tiebreak. Kelly took the tiebreak to capture the set win 7-5, 7-6(2).
When was it decided?
Kelly on Court 3 was fourth to finish after the tiebreak, clinching the win for the Tar Heels.
