April 9, 2008

North Carolina Edges Duke 4-3

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - On an afternoon where much more was at stake than a simple win or loss, the 11th-ranked UNC Tar Heels overcame the 42nd-ranked Duke Blue Devils 4-3 in what could be considered a "statement match" for many reasons. While the outcome affected the ACC standings in a conference with many highly-ranked teams, the win also broke a regular season losing streak to Duke that dated all the way back to April 11, 1996. The Tar Heels had also lost to Duke twice in the ACC tournament and won once in that time period, making UNC 1-13 since the loss in 1996. In addition, the win upped North Carolina's lead in the Carlyle Cup to 11, with the standings currently 16-5 in UNC's favor.

"I'm very proud of the guys on our team," remarked UNC Head Coach Sam Paul after the match. "It was a total team effort today."

The success for the Tar Heels began in a familiar place on Wednesday, the doubles matches. With a 1-2 combination of two top-50 doubles pairs, North Carolina has been exceptionally difficult to beat this season in non-conference and ACC play. Wednesday's match began with an 8-3 win by tenth-ranked Taylor Fogleman and Chris Kearney, as Fogleman served out the match to defeat the 50th-ranked team of David Goulet and Christopher Price.

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Hokies Beat No. 26 Virginia Commonwealth

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech men's tennis team earned a 4-2 decision against No. 26 Virginia Commonwealth in the Hokies' final non-conference match of the season on Wednesday afternoon at the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center. No. 29 Tech improves to 13-6 (5-4 ACC) on the year, while the Rams drop to 15-7 with the loss.

VCU won two of the three doubles matches for the first point, but the Hokies rebounded by winning four of the five completed singles contests for the victory. The No. 5 singles match did not finish after a decision was reached by both coaches to conclude the day since Tech had already earned the clinching point. VCU's Georges-Alexandre Israel was leading Sebastien Jacques (Fr., Magog, Quebec, Canada), 7-6, 1-6, 2-1 when play was stopped in the third set.

South Carolina Defeats Clemson 6-1

CLEMSON, S.C. - Yevgeny Supeko defeated Carlos Alvarez 6-3, 6-4 at number one singles and clinched the match in leading South Carolina to a 6-1 win over Clemson in a men's intercollegiate tennis match at Clemson, SC Wednesday afternoon. With the win, South Carolina improves to 10-11 on the year, while Clemson falls to 15-17.

This was the last home match for Clemson Head Coach Chuck Kriese as he is retiring after being at Clemson for 33 years. Today's match was his 1,101th match in his career. Kriese has an overall record of 685-416. Kriese has led the Tigers to 10 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and 12 NCAA Final 16 appearances. He has also coached the Tigers to seven NCAA Final Eight appearances. Under Head Coach Chuck Kriese, 20 Tigers have earned 34 All-America honors and 39 Tigers have won 52 ACC individual flights. Four Clemson players have won National Senior Player of the Year Honors under his tutelage.