Cardinals Fall to No. 9 North Carolina in ACC Quarterfinal

Friday, April 19

Cary, NC

11:30 a.m.

University of Louisville

North Carolina

Federico Gomez during the Cardinals match against UNC at Bass Rudd Tennis Center on April 14.

Photo by: Jeff Reinking | Louisville Athletics

Cardinals Fall to No. 9 North Carolina in ACC Quarterfinal

April 19, 2019 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

The Cardinals dropped a 4-0 decision to the third-seeded Tar Heels.

By: Kylie Klotzbach

DURHAM, N.C. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team fell 4-0 to ninth-ranked North Carolina on Friday afternoon at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in the quarterfinal of the ACC Championship. With the loss, the Cardinals drop to 16-13 on the season, while the Tar Heels improve to 18-5.

"This loss stings for several reasons. First of all, we hate losing. Secondly, it is the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Thirdly, a win today would have been a huge boost for our NCAA Tournament resume, and lastly, it was the final match for the 2019 senior class of Kougoucheff, Lancaster, Gomez, Hedley, and Filho," said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. "The Tar Heels played lights out, and head coach Sam Paul has them rolling. We had some nice late-season wins to put us in the NCAA Tournament conversation, but we needed one more top-tier win, so today was a missed opportunity. We will miss all those seniors who have brought smiles and proud moments to our program."

North Carolina gained the initial advantage in doubles as Mac Kiger and Simon Soendergaard earned a 6-2 victory over Sergio Hernandez and Alex Wesbrooks on court three. Despite a hard-fought effort from George Hedley and Federico Gomez to pull within one set, UNC's duo of Blaine Boyden and Josh Peck clinched the doubles point for the Tar Heels with a 7-5 victory at No. 2. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff and Fabien Salle were down 6-5 to Brian Cernoch and Benjamin Sigouin at No. 1 before play was halted.

Boyden extended the Tar Heels' lead to 2-0 in singles with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Salle on court four. At the six-spot, Kiger topped David Mizrahi 6-4, 6-3 to push the lead to 3-0 before No. 102 Peck secured the 4-0 victory for North Carolina with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Lancaster at No. 2.

In other singles action, Hernandez fell 6-2 to No. 116 Cernoch in the first set, but rallied for a 6-3 victory in the second and was ahead 1-0 in the third on court three before the match was decided.

Morin-Kougoucheff dropped a tightly contested first set to No. 38 Sigouin 6-4 and was behind 5-0 in the second on court one. On court five, Gomez triumphed over Soendergaard 6-4 in the first set and was down 4-3 in the second.

Match Results
#9 North Carolina 4, Louisville 0
Singles
1. #38 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) vs. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU) 6-4, 5-0, unfinished
2. #102 Josh Peck (UNC) def. Brandon Lancaster (LOU) 6-3, 6-1
3. #116 Brian Cernoch (UNC) vs. Sergio Hernandez (LOU) 6-2, 3-6, 0-1, unfinished
4. Blaine Boyden (UNC) def. Fabien Salle (LOU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) vs. Federico Gomez (LOU) 4-6, 4-3, unfinished
6. Mac Kiger (UNC) def. David Mizrahi (LOU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Brian Cernoch/Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) vs. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff/Fabien Salle (LOU) 6-5, unfinished
2. Blaine Boyden/Josh Peck (UNC) def. George Hedley/Federico Gomez (LOU) 7-5
3. Mac Kiger/Simon Soendergaard (UNC) def. Sergio Hernandez/Alex Wesbrooks (LOU) 6-2

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,6,2)?