Tennis Cruises in Pair Of Weekend Matches

The Tar Heels didn't look past the unranked 49ers on Saturday, winning 6-1.

And then facing a tired Rice team that had played at 7 p.m. the night before, 40th-ranked UNC buckled down and ran the 35th-ranked Owls ragged to win 5-2.

"It's a good win," said UNC coach Sam Paul. "We played obviously very well in some spots. It's the best match we've played this year."

UNC (6-2) took two of three doubles matches from Rice (7-4) to claim the match's first point. Junior Trystan Meniane and freshman Daniel Pinchbeck put away the Owls' combo of Richard Barker and Cody Jackson, 8-4. The UNC tandem was up 4-0 early, then allowed the Rice duo to climb back to 6-4 before closing out the match.

UNC's 33rd-ranked duo of Nicholas Monroe and Geoff Boyd then beat Matthias Mathaes and Prakash Venkataraman to ensure the point for the Tar Heels.

In the singles matches, UNC senior Marcio Petrone made short work of Rice's Richard Barker, winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.

Petrone used an array of backhands and forehands to force Barker, ranked No. 54 nationally, to race back and forth across the court. Barker seemed to wear out early against Petrone, who was engergized by his parents' courtside presence.

Meniane and Pinchbeck both improved to 8-0 in singles with straight-set victories. Pinchbeck's 6-1, 6-2 win over Venkataraman clinched the match for UNC.

Saturday, against UNC-Charlotte (1-5), the Tar Heels were pushed but ultimately prevailed on the strength of their superior ability.

UNC won all three doubles matches to jump out to an early one-point lead.

The only duo to be challenged was Monroe and Boyd, which gave up an early lead before putting away its opponent 8-6.

The singles matches were highlighted by the straight-set victories of Meniane (7-5, 6-3) and Pinchbeck (6-4, 6-0). Monroe clinched the UNC win with a strong finish to put away Charlotte's Joakim Peterson, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Paul was far from satisfied, however, and saw room for improvement.

"We can play better," Paul said. "We can have a better focus and more determination. We learn from match to match."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.