The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
North Carolina
No. 20 Men's Tennis upsets No. 6 North Carolina, 4-3
03.04.2018 | Men's Tennis
Longhorns sweep ACC road trip against top-20 foes.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 18 Texas (9-2) collected the doubles point and three hard-fought singles wins to escape Chapel Hill with a 4-3 victory over host No. 6 North Carolina (10-3) Sunday afternoon at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
The Longhorns post their first win of the season over a top-10 opponent. Sunday's result marks their first top-10 victory since the third round of the 2017 NCAA Championships, when the Horns knocked out seventh-seeded Baylor.
The Horns and Heels took strong doubles teams into the opening doubles session, and Texas emerged with the doubles point for the eighth time in 11 matches this season. Junior Adrian Ortiz joined sophomore Christian Sigsgaard to knock off UNC's Anu Kodali and Benjamin Sigoin by a 6-2 count at second doubles.
The contest at first doubles pitted two of the nation's top doubles teams against one another. Ultimately, Texas' third-ranked tandem of Rodrigo Banzer and Leonardo Telles held off UNC's sixth-ranked duo of William Blumberg and Robert Kelly by a 6-3 count to deliver the doubles point for the Longhorns. The match at third doubles was suspended.
North Carolina evened the tally with Blaine Boyden's 6-2, 6-0 win over UT's Ortiz at fifth singles. The Tar Heels claimed a 2-1 led behind the 44th-ranked Sigouin's 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sigsgaard at second singles.
Texas' Banzer evened the tally at two with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Joshua Peck at sixth singles. The Longhorns reclaimed the lead at 3-2 by way of the 43rd-ranked Telles' 7-6, (5), 6-4 victory over Soendergaard at fourth singles.
It took the top player in the nation three lengthy sets to outlast Texas' Yuya Ito at first singles and hand him his first dual-match defeat of the season. The Tar Heels' top-ranked Blumberg kept UNC in the match with his 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Ito. However, UT's 62nd-ranked Harrison Scott returned the favor and outlasted the Tar Heels' 105th-ranked Robert Kelly, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3 at third singles to finish off the Longhorns' 4-3 victory.
Texas returns home Tuesday night to take on Pennsylvania. First serve is set for 6 p.m. at Texas Tennis Center.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Michael Center
This was a great win for us today. North Carolina is an amazing team. They've got outstanding players up and down their lineup. For us to come here and win this match, it really took some heart and determination. I felt we were improving in practice, but until you get into a situation like this in a big match, you're not quite sure. To see us come through like that made it a special day for us. The guys are excited, and we will enjoy it tonight, but we have to get back to work and be ready for Pennsylvania on Tuesday night. This was a really good day for Texas against a great team in North Carolina.
No. 20 Texas 4, No. 6 North Carolina 3
Doubles – Order of Finish: 2, 1,
1 No. 3 Rodrigo Banzer/Leonardo Telles (UT) def. No. 6 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (UNC), 6-3
2 Adrian Ortiz/Christian Sigsgaard (UT) def. Anu Kodali/Benjamin Sigouin (UNC), 6-2
3 Yuya Ito/Colin Markes (UT) vs. Simon Soendergaard/Mac Kiger (UNC), 5-5, susp.
Singles – Order of Finish: 5, 2, 6, 4, 1, 3
1 No. 1 William Blumberg (UNC) def. No. 118 Yuya Ito (UT), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
2 No. 44 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) def. Christian Sigsgaard (UT), 6-3, 6-2
3 No. 62 Harrison Scott (UT) def. No. 105 Robert Kelly (UNC), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3
4 No. 43 Leonardo Telles (UT) def. Simon Soendergaard (UNC), 7-6 (5), 6-4
5 Blaine Boyden (UNC) def. Adrian Ortiz (UT), 6-2, 6-0
6 No. 111 Rodrigo Banzer (UT) def. Joshua Peck (UNC), 6-4, 6-4
Players Mentioned
