No. 20 Cardinals Fall to No. 10 North Carolina

Sunday, March 5

LOUISVILLE, KY

1:00 PM

University of Louisville

North Carolina

Photo by: Annabelle Merz | Louisville Athletics

March 05, 2023 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Nancy Worley

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Louisville men's tennis team fell 4-0 to No. 10 North Carolina Sunday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

"We have to continue to work hard and improve every day," said UofL head coach Rodrigo da Silva. "There are no easy matches in the ACC, so we will put today behind us and just keep our noses to the grindstone."

In doubles to start the match, the No. 56-ranked UNC pair of Will Jansen and Karl Poling downed Alex Wesbrooks and Matthew Fung 6-1. The Louisville pair of Etienne Donnet and Sergio Hernandez evened the score with a 6-2 win at No. 3 over Casey Kania and Peter Murphy. The doubles outcome then fell to the No. 1 court where No. 14-ranked Cardinal pair Fabien Salle and Natan Rodriguez battled the No. 37-ranked pair of Brian Cernoch and Benjamin Kittay before falling 7-6 (5).

Down 1-0 going into singles, the Heels struck first winning the No. 3 spot when Karl Poling beat Fabien Salle 7-5, 6-0. The Cards fell at the No. 5-slot when Anuj Watane bested Andre Steinbach 6-2, 6-1. The match was clinched at the No. 6 slot when UNC's Benjamin Kittay beat David Mizrahi 7-5 (5), 6-1 for the UNC win. The Tar Heels move to 10-4 on the season.

The Cardinals (9-4) continue their homestand next weekend when they host Virginia March 10 at p.m. and Virginia Tech Match 12 at noon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

Tennis Match Results
North Carolina vs Louisville Men's Tennis
3/5/2023 at Louisville, Ky.
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)

#10 North Carolina 4, #20 Louisville Men's Tennis 0

Singles competition
1. #24 Etienne Donnet (LOU-MT) vs. #72 Brian Cernoch (NC) 6-1, 6-7, unfinished
2. #44 Natan Rodrigues (LOU-MT) vs. #112 Will Jansen (NC) 1-6, 5-6, unfinished
3. Karl Poling (NC) def. Fabien Salle (LOU-MT) 7-5, 6-0
4. Matthew Fung (LOU-MT) vs. Chris Li (NC) 6-7, 2-1, unfinished
5. Anuj Watane (NC) def. Andre Steinbach (LOU-MT) 6-2, 6-1
6. Benjamin Kittay (NC) def. David Mizrahi (LOU-MT) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #37 Brian Cernoch/Benjamin Kittay (NC) def. #14 Fabien Salle/Natan Rodrigues (LOU-MT) 7-6 (7-5)
2. #56 Will Jansen/Karl Poling (NC) def. Alex Wesbrooks/Matthew Fung (LOU-MT) 6-1
3. Etienne Donnet/Sergio Hernandez (LOU-MT) def. Casey Kania/Peter Murphy (NC) 6-2

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,5,6)