CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Brian Cernoch won the clincher in his final home match as 14th-ranked North Carolina (19-8) shutout 17th-ranked Utah (24-6), 4-0, in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship on Sunday afternoon at the Chewning Tennis Center.
With the victory, 16th-seeded Carolina advances to next weekend’s NCAA Round of 16, a Super Regional match to be hosted by top-seeded Texas in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns beat Pepperdine, 4-0, at home on Sunday.
Making their 27th NCAA appearance under 30th-year head coach Sam Paul, the Tar Heels have reached at least the Round of 16 in nine consecutive NCAA Championships.
“I was looking at the scoreboard as I was playing the match and saw there were a couple of third sets there, and [Will] Jansen was closing in on a second-set win,” Cernoch said. “I was in a tiebreak, down in the breaker, and I knew it was coming down to me and that if I could win it right there it would clinch it. To play here on these new courts and finish out my career at home by winning the clincher, it’s kind of a surreal moment…I took a selfie there at the end with the crowd. It’s something I’ll cherish forever.”
“What a great win for us,” Paul said afterward. “Utah has a great team, the Pac 12 champions, a first-class program. Their coaching staff is tremendous, and it was just a great college tennis match all the way through. We’re fortunate to be moving on.
“I’m so proud of our guys, it was probably the best match we’ve played this year. I can’t say enough about Brian Cernoch, what a story for him to win his last match in this facility as a fifth-year player. I’m so happy for him. Ryan Seggerman, he helped us clinch, too. Just a total team effort. Will Jansen has been there for us all year and wins the doubles point for us, and another freshman, Benjamin Kittay, was great in his singles match. Total, 100 percent, team-effort win. I’m just really happy for all of them.”
The Tar Heels and Utes were meeting for the second time in history. In the first meeting, UNC beat Utah, 4-0, in the first round of the 2018 ITA Kickoff Weekend in Chapel Hill.
On Sunday the Tar Heels won the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. Casey Kania and Seggerman were serving and down 15-40 in the seventh game of their match at No. 1 doubles, then clawed back with three clutch points…
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