UNC men's tennis handles Boston College, remains perfect at home

The No. 11 North Carolina men's tennis team improved its home record to a perfect 10-0 with a 6-1 win over Boston College on Friday. 

What happened?

Another dominating performance from North Carolina (15-4, 7-2 ACC) left the Eagles (6-13, 0-10 ACC) stunned, giving the Tar Heels an impressive win in its last home match before senior day.

In the doubles matches, No. 34 Blaine Boyden and William Blumberg reaffirmed their ACC Men’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week status. 

The pair narrowly missed a shutout and seemed unstoppable, taking the first five games before winning the match 6-1.

Simon Soendergaard and Josh Peck clinched the doubles point for UNC with their 6-3 victory after a small rally by Boston College was cut short.

In singles, the Tar Heels proved ready for an imminent postseason run, winning five of six matches. 

Although Blumberg sat out singles with a bothered wrist, strong matches were no issue for the rest of the team.

Brian Cernoch was the first to get a win with a pair of 6-2 sets, and Soendergaard followed behind him with two 6-3 set wins, giving the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead. 

On court two, No. 104 Peck battled from behind after an early 2-1 Eagles lead in the first set. He  came back to get UNC’s clinching point over BC's Markus Nordby, winning 6-2 in both sets.

On the first court, No. 35 Benjamin Sigouin also fell behind 1-2 to Boston College’s Derek Austin early. The back-and-forth first set was tied at 3, 4, then 5, before Sigouin pushed ahead for the 7-5 win. 

And Sigouin’s energy was unmatched in the second set, when the sophomore grabbed a swift 6-1 win. 

North Carolina’s Ladd Harrison had just his second appearance of the season on court six. The junior had a promising performance despite dropping the match, fighting hard in both sets en route to a 6-4, 7-6(5) loss.

Just moments after Harrison’s finish, senior Boyden finished his match with a 6-2 win in the second set, putting the finishing touches on the Tar Heels' 6-1 victory. 

Who stood out?

All five Tar Heel singles winners dominated with straight set victories, including Boyden, who was able to come out on top of a first set tiebreaker. 

After Boston College’s Austin nudged ahead on court one, Sigouin was able to come back and battle several tying scores to win his first set.

When was it decided?

After a 2-0 win in doubles and two wins shortly through singles, it was clear North Carolina would pull off the win. 

Why does it matter?

Friday’s victory moved North Carolina to a 7-2 ACC record on the season, with the only two losses coming at the hands of Wake Forest, who leads the ACC with a perfect 10-0 record, and Georgia Tech. 

Riding a three match win streak with only one match in between them and heavyweight Virginia, UNC has plenty of momentum to take down the Cavaliers on away territory next Friday. 

When do they play next?

In a noon matchup with Notre Dame, the Tar Heels will honor their lone senior Boyden this Sunday in their last home game of the season.

@jillianfellows2

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com