No. 11 UNC men's tennis picks up 6-1 win over Florida State

The No. 11 North Carolina men’s tennis team put together a dominating effort in its 6-1 win over Florida State on Sunday afternoon. 

What happened?

North Carolina (13-4, 5-2 ACC) started the day off by securing the doubles point early over Florida State (14-7, 4-4 ACC) after 6-2 and 6-3 victories on Courts Two and One, respectively. First-year Brian Cernoch and sophomore Ben Sigouin got the 6-2 win and junior William Blumberg and senior Blaine Boyden got the 6-3 win on Court One.

Cernoch was the first to finish in singles on Court Three, winning 6-3, 6-4 against Richard Thongoana. Almost immediately after, Boyden wrapped up his match, taking home a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Chase Wood. The clinching victory came on Court Two, where No. 37 Sigouin defeated his opponent, Alex Knaff, 6-4, 6-2. 

After UNC clinched the win, junior Josh Peck closed out his match next against Enzo Le Seguillon, 6-2, 6-4. 

Finishing fifth was No. 26 Blumberg, who won the first set against Lucas Poullain, 6-3. Blumberg forced a tiebreaker in the second and won the tiebreaker in a back-and-forth affair.

The only Florida State win came on Court Six, where Sebastian Arcila edged out sophomore Mac Kiger in a tiebreaker 11-9.

Who stood out?

The North Carolina victory saw contributions from the whole team. Cernoch and Sigouin set the tempo early with stellar play in doubles, and the rest followed in the same manner. 

“Bo, our senior, looked good in singles and doubles, and then obviously Brian and Ben in doubles," head coach Sam Paul said. "They played a really good match. I think everybody played solid. It’s a good win."

When was it decided?

After securing the doubles point, North Carolina never really looked back. UNC dominated every aspect of the match, leaving little hope for the Seminoles from the start. 

The Tar Heels scored all three singles points in a span of about 15 minutes, another testament to how focused they were.

Why does it matter?

The ACC is a very tough conference, and advancing to 5-2 in conference play is a good indication that North Carolina is a very good team. 

“Florida State is a great program; their coach does a great job,” Paul said. "It’s a good ACC win.” 

When do they play next?

The men’s tennis team is back in action on Wednesday at home, where it faces N.C. State at 4 p.m.

“They’ve got one of the better teams they’ve had in a long time, so hopefully a lot of fans can come out. It’s going to be a heck of a match,” Paul said.

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