Tar Heels Win Big Match Against Virginia
April 6, 2003
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.- - In an exciting and hard-fought match, the No. 41 North Carolina men's tennis team defeated No. 30 Virginia Sunday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Five of the six singles matches lasted the full three sets. No. 2 seed Nick Monroe beat Virginia's Rylan Rizza 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4) to clinch the match and improve his singles record to 20-9. In a match that lasted close to three hours and was full of emotion, Monroe fought hard until the very end. "I knew I could stay out there all day," the junior said. "We practiced tiebreakers a lot to get ready for this. We knew it could come down to tiebreakers in this match." Trystan Meniane, playing at No.1 and ranked No. 43, rallied from 0-3 in the final set to defeat No. 42 Doug Stewart in another emotional win, 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-4. North Carolina took the doubles point by winning the No.1 and No.2 doubles spots. That propelled the Tar Heels and gave them confidence going into singles play. "We've been playing better in doubles," UNC Head Coach Sam Paul said. "I'm really proud of my team," Paul said. "It shows a lot of character to play like they did. This puts us back in the picture for an NCAA bid." The Tar Heels return to action at Cone-Kenfield on Wednesday when they will face Duke at 3:00 p.m. The win ended a seven-match losing streak for Carolina. UNC is now 8-9 overall and 1-4 in the ACC.
#41 North Carolina 4, #30 Virginia 3
Singles 2. Nicholas Monroe (UNC) d. Rylan Rizza; 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4)*
3. Michael Duquette (UVA) d. #105 Daniel Pinchbeck; 6-2, 6-1
4. Chris Gonyer (UVA) d. Derek Porter; 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 5. Andrew Metzler (UNC) d. Stephen Rozek; 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 6. Darrin Cohen (UVA) d. Geoff Boyd; 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles 2. Boyd/Greg Archer (UNC) d. Gonyer/ Stephen Nolen; 9-8(4) 3. Rizza/Nick Methayler (UVA) d. Pinchbeck/Brad Pomeroy; 8-2
Order of finish in singles (#3, #5, #6, #1, #4, #2) *clinched the match |
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