At one point in North Carolina’s Raian Luchici’s match against Charlotte’s Roy Sichel on Saturday, Luchici slammed his racket against the court, frustrated that he was down 3-0 in the second set.
But Luchici, who ranks No. 66 in the nation in singles, came back strong. He took six of the next seven games to win the match in straight sets.
Much like Luchici, the No. 29 Tar Heels (7-2) seemed frustrated and faced stiff competition, but still handed Charlotte (4-4) a 7-0 sweep at the Cone-Kenfield Indoor Tennis Center.
“It was a match with some long rallies, and I think I was able to keep my composure better than him,” Luchici said. “He was pretty tough and took bathroom breaks, which was smart because it threw me off.”
At No. 3 singles, Charlotte’s Marlo Santoso gave UNC’s Geoff Boyd a run that extended after the second set to a tiebreaker in a tight match.
In the tiebreaker, Boyd sailed a shot right over Santoso that landed just within the line, prompting a loud yell from Boyd.
“There were tough outs, and this kid beat us last year,” said UNC coach Sam Paul. “Santoso’s given us a tough match every time.”
Boyd won the first set 6-4, lost 5-7 in the second and then came back to narrowly defeat Santoso 14-12 in a marathon tiebreaker.
UNC’s Brad Pomeroy faced high school teammate Jonathan Clark for the first time in collegiate play. He defeated Clark 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 2 singles spot. Pomeroy’s win was the fourth point for the Tar Heels, which clinched the match.
