March 25, 1999

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Playing at home for the first time in 26 days, the 75th-ranked University of North Carolina men's tennis team got back into the win column on Thursday afternoon as the Tar Heels crushed visiting Maryland 7-0 at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.

The Tar Heels easily won the doubles point to take a quick 1-0 lead in the match and then they swept all six singles matches in straight sets to score the shutout victory. Victories were posted by senior Michael Grass at #1 singles, junior Assaf Drori at #2, sophomore David Cheatwood at #3, junior Aron Breziner at #4 and freshmen Bjorn Rencken and Ben Elix at #5 and #6.

UNC evened its overall record at 8-8 with the win over the Terrapins. The match was also Carolina's Atlantic Coast Conference opener. The Terps fell to 3-6 overall and 0-5 in ACC matches. The Tar Heels will play host to 61st-ranked Florida State on Sunday at 1 p.m. in another Atlantic Coast Conference match in its next outing on the courts.

#75 NORTH CAROLINA 7, MARYLAND 0

SINGLES
1. Michael Grass (UNC) d. T. J. Klier (UMD), 6-0, 6-1
2 Assaf Drori (UNC) d. Larry Chou (UMD), 6-1, 6-1
3. David Cheatwood (UNC) d. Kyle Cerminara (UMD), 6-0, 6-2
4. Aron Breziner (UNC) d. Jon Murchison (UMD), 6-1, 6-2
5. Bjorn Rencken (UNC) d. Luan Nguyen (UMD), 6-4, 6-2
6. Ben Elix (UNC) d. Dan Kenshalo (UMD), 6-2, 6-0

DOUBLES
(Played before singles, team winning majority of matches earns one team point)
1. Michael Grass/Ben Elix (UNC) d. Larry Chou/Jon Murchison (UMD), 8-0
2. Assaf Drori/Bjorn Rencken (UNC) d. Kyle Cerminara/James Logat (UMD), 8-1
3. Aron Breziner/David Cheatwood (UNC) d. Dan Kenshalo/Luan Nguyen (UMD), 8-4

RECORDS: Maryland 3-6, ACC 0-5; North Carolina 8-8, ACC 1-0