CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—North Carolina swept four singles matches and Karl Poling won the clincher as UNC beat Drake, 4-1, in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Chewning Tennis Center.
Making its 31st NCAA appearance and 27th under 30th-year head coach Sam Paul, Carolina dropped the doubles point before completing four singles victories in rapid succession and advancing. With their win, the Tar Heel men (18-8) move on to Sunday’s NCAA second round to face Utah, which beat Old Dominion, 4-1, earlier on Saturday in Chapel Hill.
UNC has reached at least the Round of 16 in eight consecutive NCAA Championships and will try for a ninth appearance in a row on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it hosts the 17th-ranked Utes. Like the Tar Heels, Utah also lost the doubles point in its win over ODU before dominating in singles play.
Brian Cernoch and Benjamin Kittay, ranked No. 33 in the nation, cruised to a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles to start the afternoon for Carolina. At No. 3 doubles, the Bulldogs got a come-from-behind, 6-4 win over Poling and Will Jansen after trailing 3-0. Drake grabbed the doubles point when Matija Matic and Oliver Johansson nipped the ninth-ranked duo of Ryan Seggerman and Casey Kania, 7-5.
UNC won its four singles matches in a span of under two minutes, led first by Logan Zapp, who picked up Carolina’s initial win at No. 6 when he beat Reid Jarvis, 6-3, 6-2. Cernoch followed seconds later by beating Jeremy Schifris, 6-0, 7-5, at No. 1 singles. Seggerman was next in line with his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Matic at No. 2.
Around a minute later, Poling won at No. 4 to clinch the team win, beating Evan Fragistas, 6-3, 6-1.
Saturday’s Tar Heel win was part of a doubleheader with the UNC women’s team, which beat Old Dominion for a berth in the NCAA Super Regional round later in the afternoon.
UNC 3 Drake 1 Seggerman 6-4, 6-4 pic.twitter.com/VwkoDsnX8n
— Carolina Men’s Tennis 🐏🎾 (@carolinatennis) May 6, 2023
Drake vs North Carolina
5/6/2023 at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Chewning Tennis Center)
#14 North Carolina 4, #72 Drake 1
Singles competition
1. #43 Brian Cernoch (NC) def. Jeremy Schifris (DRAKE) 6-0, 7-5
2. #58 Ryan Seggerman (NC) def. Matija Matic (DRAKE) 6-4, 6-4
3. Will Jansen (NC) vs. Oliver Johansson (DRAKE) 4-6, 6-3, 0-1, unfinished
4. Karl Poling (NC) def. Evan Fragistas (DRAKE) 6-3,…
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