Men's Tennis ACCtion: Wednesday, March 19 - ACC OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

March 20, 2008

UNC Edges Wake in Emotional ACC Opener

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - On a day where many of the Tar Heels' thoughts were in places other than the tennis courts, much less in preparation to face a top-30 ACC opponent, UNC pulled out an emotional 4-3 victory over the nationally 29th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The win came a day after the university held a memorial service for the UNC's late Student Body President Eve Carson, who was killed on March 5th. Carson was close to many of the Tar Heel players, including senior Tristan Heinrich, who played a nearly flawless match along with fellow senior David Stone to help secure an emotional 8-2 win at the third doubles spot.

"Tennis has been great for me in a time like this," said Heinrich about dealing with the loss of Carson. "It has given me the chance to sort of clear my mind and get out there and be with my teammates."

Heinrich wasn't the only one visibly remembering someone who was surely one of the most dynamic Carolina students ever. Every UNC player paid some form of tribute to Carson, most through white lettering spelling "Eve" ironed onto the front of their Carolina blue shirts. A mere two weeks after her passing, it was a fitting and admirable tribute to a girl who without doubt cared more about the Carolina community than almost anyone--a win to open ACC conference play over an in-state rival.

Duke Edges N.C. State on Tiebreakers For 4-3 Win to Start ACC Season

RALEIGH, N.C. - After suffering four losses earlier this season by a 4-3 count the No. 66 Duke men's tennis team turned their luck around on Wednesday, winning two tiebreakers to clinch the doubles point and the match in a 4-3 victory over No. 54 N.C. State to start the ACC season at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Complex in Raleigh.

The match came down to the No. 4 position with the score even at 3-3. Duke's Dylan Arnould had won the first set on a 7-6 (9-7) tiebreaker and the Wolfpack's Christian Welte took the second set 6-3 to bring the match down to a third and deciding set. The final set came down to the wire with the two players knotted at 6-6 leaving the match up to a tiebreaker. Arnould took control early and wound up winning 7-3 on the tiebreaker to give the Blue Devils a win in their ACC opener. The victory improved Arnould's record to 11-10 overall and 5-2 in the No. 4 slot.

Equally as important to the outcome of the match was Arnould's doubles victory with teammate Alex Stone. The duo have played well as of late and continued their hot streak by clinching the doubles point with a 9-8 (5) tiebreaker victory over David Chermak and Derek Stephens at the No. 3 doubles position. The win was the seventh of the season for Arnould and Stone who are 7-4 in dual matches.

No. 1 Cavaliers Defeat Virginia Tech 7-0

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia men's tennis team recorded its school record 17th consecutive win with a 7-0 victory over Virginia Tech Wednesday afternoon at the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center. The Cavaliers remain undefeated on the season at 17-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.

"Virginia Tech is a very good team and to beat them 7-0 here in Blacksburg is a good accomplishment," said Virginia associate head coach Tony Bresky. "We have been working hard on just getting better each match and it appears that is happening. The doubles have certainly seen an improvement recently. We now look forward to this weekend with Georgia Tech and Clemson."

Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the match by sweeping the doubles point. The top-ranked team of Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) downed Albert Larregola and Nicolas Delgado de Robles 8-2 at No. 1 doubles. At No. 2 doubles, Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Dominic Inglot (London, England) clinched the opening point with an 8-6 win over Yoann Re and Sebastien Jacques. Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) completed the sweep with an 8-6 win over Brandon Corace and Alexandre Labrosse at No. 3 doubles.