No. 1 North Carolina Tops Louisville 4-1

Friday, March 5

LOUISVILLE, KY

2:00 PM

University of Louisville

NORTH CAROLINA

Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics

March 05, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Kyle Echsner

Louisville, Ky. – The University of Louisville fell to No. 1 North Carolina 4-1 Friday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The Cardinals drop to 5-5 (1-4, ACC) on the year, while the undefeated Tar Heels improve to 9-0 (3-0, ACC).

"We played a good match despite what the scoreboard showed," head coach Rodrigo da Silva said. "I am proud of these guys and we have got to keep working because on Sunday we have another great team coming in here."

In doubles, the Tar Heels captured the early momentum by taking the first point of the match. Benjamin Sigouin and Rinky Hijikata took down Louisville's Fabien Salle and Matthew Fung 6-1 on court one. The Cardinals bounced back with Sergio Hernandez and Tin Chen beating Brian Cernoch and Adam Neff 6-4. The doubles point came down to court three, where Mac Kiger and Josh Peck dropped Josh Howard-Tripp and Alex Wesbrooks 6-4 to claim a 1-0 lead.

North Carolina kept the momentum going into singles action where Mac Kiger took down Matthew Fung 6-3, 6-3 on court No. 5 to extend the Tar Heels' lead to 2-0.

On court three, Hernandez won his first set against Brian Cernoch, 6-4, before Cernoch bounced back in the second set to force a decisive third set tiebreaker. Hernandez held on to his late lead to earn the Cardinals first point in the match with a 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker) win in his second set.

Wesbrooks won his first set on court six with a 6-4 win against Logan Zapp. Zapp recovered 6-2, forcing a third set, where he defeated Wesbrooks 6-1.

North Carolina clinched the match with No. 55 Hijikata defeating No. 71 Chen 7-5, 7-6 on court one. Courts two and four were left unfinished.

Next Up: The Cardinals close out the weekend, welcoming Duke to the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center Sunday at noon.

#1 North Carolina 4, #49 Louisville 1
March 05, 2021 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #55 Rinky Hijikata (NC) def. #71 Tin Chen (LOU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
2. Fabien Salle (LOU) vs. #41 Benjamin Sigouin (NC) 4-6, 6-4, 2-2, unfinished
3. Sergio Hernandez (LOU) def. Brian Cernoch (NC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Josh Howard-Tripp (LOU) vs. #100 Josh Peck (NC) 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, unfinished
5. Mac Kiger (NC) def. Matthew Fung (LOU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Logan Zapp (NC) def. Alex Wesbrooks (LOU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1

Doubles
1. Benjamin Sigouin/Rinky Hijikata (NC) def. Fabien Salle/Matthew Fung (LOU) 6-1
2. Sergio Hernandez/Tin Chen (LOU) def. Brian Cernoch/Adam Neff (NC) 6-4
3. Mac Kiger/Josh Peck (NC) def. Josh Howard-Tripp/Alex Wesbrooks (LOU) 6-4
Match Notes:
North Carolina 9-0 (3-0); National ranking #1
Louisville Men's Tennis 5-5 (1-4); National ranking #49
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,3,6,1)
T-2:20