The Daily Tar Heel
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Thursday, March 28, 2024 Newsletters Latest print issue

We keep you informed.

Help us keep going. Donate Today.
The Daily Tar Heel

UNC men's tennis ends fall season on high note at the Wake Forest Invitational

Blaine Boyden unc men's tennis.jpg
North Carolina men's tennis player Blaine Boyden takes a backhand.

Members of the North Carolina men’s tennis team competed in the Wake Forest Invitational this past weekend. 

The event was the team’s fifth since the start of October. UNC had four people play in the tournament, including sophomores Ladd Harrison, Kavir Kumar and Simon Soendergaard and junior Anu Kodali. All Tar Heels competed in singles tournaments, and Harrison and Kodali teamed up for the A1 Doubles bracket. 

Several players had impressive showings in the tournament, including Harrison and Kodali, who made it to the semifinals both individually and as a doubles tandem.

Kodali won his first match in two games and then had to rally to defeat UNC-Charlotte’s Constandinos Christoforou after laying an egg in the second, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. Kodali eventually fell in three sets to top-seeded Antonio Cembellin from Indiana University, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. 

Kodali then lost in two sets against Duke’s Spencer Furman, 7-5, 7-5. He ended the tournament in fourth place. 

After defeating Sam Rice of UNC-Charlotte in the first round of the singles draw, he won his next game against Liberty’s Alex Poynter, 6-3, 6-1. In the semifinals, though, Wofford’s Kyle Barr ended Harrison’s run with a two-set victory.

Harrison then went on to beat Adam Schmidt of George Washington 6-4, 6-2 to claim third place for the C2 singles tournament. 

Soendergaard had one decisive win against Wake Forest’s Alan Gadjiev but ultimately dropped the match in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. Soendergaard finished strong after his loss, however, winning out his next two matches in two sets apiece to claim the fifth place in the A2 singles tournament. 

Kavir Kumar lost in his second match against UNC-Charlotte’s Ben Wayand in three sets, and then later lost his next match against Edu Villard of Wofford.

The duo of Kodali and Harrison lost its opening round to the one doubles team from ECU, 7-5, but afterward the two Tar Heels came back to make it all the way to the consolation finals before dropping their match against the team from Liberty. 

The tournament was a good showing for a North Carolina team that proved they can come back after defeats to win matches. 

@bg_keyes

sports@dailytarheel.com

To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.