Hernandez clinches tennis team’s win over Georgia Tech

Junior Jose Hernandez has been a fixture on the first singles court for No. 24 North Carolina, and on Friday against Georgia Tech, he displayed exactly why his team counts on him to face the ACC’s toughest competitors.

With all five other singles matches decided, Hernandez bested Georgia Tech’s Kevin King in the third set, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2, and clinched UNC’s fifth ACC win.

“I can feel the atmosphere and everyone rushing to my court,” Hernandez said. “It was a good win for me, and I’m really happy for that.”

King entered the match 27-5 on the season, and Hernandez is the first ACC opponent to beat the 11th-ranked singles player, according to Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Hernandez is ranked No. 43 by the ITA.

Despite a strong performance from senior Brennan Boyajian and freshman Oystein Steiro to win their doubles match 8-6, the duos of Hernandez and senior Joey Burkhardt, as well as junior William Parker and senior Alex Rafiee, lost by the same 8-6 margin, and the Tar Heels lost the doubles point.

Hernandez said he didn’t let the loss to the doubles tandem of King and Juan Spir, who are the seventh-ranked pair in Division I, affect his singles performance.

“It doesn’t affect me at all. I knew that in the doubles it was just a break. It was a matter of one point. I knew we were right there,” Hernandez said. “We can beat anyone in the country. It’s just a matter of little adjustments and keep practicing.”

Although Burkhardt dropped his singles match on court four, Parker, Steiro and Esben Hess-Olesen disposed of their opponents to give UNC a 3-2 lead.

Either Boyajian or Hernandez needed a win to send the Yellow Jackets home empty-handed, but it wasn’t easy, as both players would go to three sets.

Boyajian fought for each point, rattling the much larger 6-foot-4 Spir when he won an appeal from the umpire on a close call in the third set, but ultimately lost 6-7 (4), 6-2, 5-7.

“My game plan is just to be very competitive, show a lot of fire, try to bring up my teammates on all the courts,” Boyajian said. “Even if I’m losing, I’ll still show a lot of fire, so they hear me and know that we’re ready to fight to the end.”

Coach Sam Paul was proud of his team for not underestimating the Yellow Jackets.

“We knew they were underranked coming in here,” Paul said. “We’ve got a strong group of fighters.”

Paul acknowledged the effort put forth by Boyajian despite his loss and said that Friday’s match was the best Hernandez had played all year.

“He’s a great player. He’s capable of beating anybody on any day,” Paul said. “He’s working hard for it, so I’m very proud of him.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.