The No. 6 North Carolina men’s tennis team (4-1) fell 5-2 to No. 8 Texas (7-0) to suffer its first loss of the season.
What happened?
From the beginning, the Tar Heels were behind during this top-10 matchup between two originally undefeated teams. With each point that went in their favor, the Longhorns responded just as strong. Texas won on Courts Two and Three, 6-2, beating UNC’s duo teams senior Blaine Boyden and junior Simon Soendergaard and first-year Brian Cernoch and sophomore Mac Kiger.
For the second match in a row, UNC dropped the doubles point.
In individual play, the Tar Heels and Longhorns were more evenly matched as five out of the six singles matches went to the third set. Soendergaard was one of two Tar Heels to win a singles match, while also being the first to finish. He won 6-2, 6-2 on Court Six.
The Longhorns took the next three to clinch the win; however, Courts One and Two played out after the team result was decided. Sophomore Benjamin Sigouin fell in the third set after a 10-8 tiebreak. Junior William Blumberg was the other Tar Heel to win his singles matche, finishing last on Court One, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-3.
Even with a negative result, UNC stayed focused on the positives this match brought them.
“Congrats to Texas,” head coach Sam Paul said. “I’m very proud of my team; they fought very hard. This match will help us a lot down the road.”
