No. 5 North Carolina Claims 6-1 Win At No. 64 Duke

Sunday, April 17

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

North Carolina

Blue Devil Seniors Leave Mark on Program

No. 5 North Carolina Claims 6-1 Win At No. 64 Duke

4/17/2016 4:11:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke men's tennis team finished the regular season Sunday at Ambler Tennis Stadium with a 6-1 loss to No. 5 North Carolina. The 64th-ranked Blue Devils captured a point with sophomore Nicolas Alvarez's victory on court one.

Prior to the match, Duke honored Daniel McCall and Josh Levine for Senior Day.

“UNC is a great team and they beat up on us today,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “They're having a great season and doing a great job. We need to flush this down the toilet and do everything we can to prepare for the first round of the ACC Tournament.”

In doubles, UNC (24-3, 9-3 ACC) took the point with victories on courts two and three. Court three tallied the first triumph as Anudeep Kodali and Ronnie Schneider topped Levine and freshman Catalin Mateas, 6-2. UNC jumped ahead 2-0 and 4-1 before closing out the set. Levine and Mateas are 1-1 on the year.

The court two match had the No. 29 team of Jack Murray and Brayden Schnur down McCall and freshman Jason Lapidus, 6-3. The Blue Devil duo was broken to fall behind 1-2, but evened the action immediately with a break back. The two were tied at 3-3 also before the Tar Heels went on a three game run with a pair of breaks to end the match. McCall and Lapidus dip to 9-8 overall and 4-7 in ACC action.

The court one match between Alvarez and junior TJ Pura and North Carolina's pair of Brett Clark and Robert Kelly, the No. 2 team in the country, was halted with the Blue Devils trailing 4-3.

North Carolina tallied its second point on court four, where No. 114 Kelly defeated McCall, 6-1, 6-1. McCall finishes his final regular season with an 8-13 mark and 2-5 record in ACC play.

The Tar Heels made it a 3-0 lead with Blaine Boyden against sophomore Andrew DeJoy on court six as Boyden claimed a 6-2, 6-0 triumph. DeJoy, playing his first career ACC match, ends the regular season with a 2-11 mark.

Registering the clinching point was No. 47 Clark, who topped Levine, 6-1, 6-0, on court three. Levine dips to 16-13 overall and 6-4 versus league foes.

North Carolina pushed the advantage to 5-0 with a 6-3, 6-0 victory by No. 111 Murray against Lapidus on court five. With Lapidus trailing just 3-2 in the opening set, Murray went on to claim nine of the final 10 games. Lapidus falls to 4-8 overall and 0-2 against ACC competition.

The Tar Heels tacked on their final point on court two, where No. 28 Schneider defeated Pura, 6-4, 6-3. Schneider led 3-0 and 4-1 in the opening set before Pura went on a three game run to even the set. Schneider responded with consecutive victories to end the opening set. In the second set, Schneider jumped ahead 5-1 before Pura won two straight to make it a 5-3 deficit. Schneider served out to end the match. Pura caps the regular season with a 12-16 record and 5-7 mark in league matches.

“It was a really close match, closer than the score indicated,” Smith said. “TJ just couldn't quite break through in some of the bigger points. As he always does, TJ competed great. He gave himself a chance.”

The Blue Devils (11-14, 4-8 ACC) claimed their point on court one as No. 22 Alvarez finished a large comeback against No. 29 Schnur to win 6-4, 7-6 (6). In the opening set, Alvarez trailed by 3-0 and 4-1 margins before going on a five game march for the win. In the second set, the two were tied at 1-1 before Alvarez broke and held to go up 3-1. Schnur answered and knotted the set at 3-3. The two remained on serve throughout the rest of the set and headed to the tiebreaker. The sides were even at points one through three in the tiebreaker before Schnur won consecutive points to go up 5-3. Alvarez won three straight to go up 6-5, but Schnur answered and knotted the breaker again, this time at 6-6. Alvarez then hit a winner and ace to end the match. Alvarez has won three straight matches, captured six of his last seven decisions and improves to 17-14 overall and 6-5 versus league foes. Alvarez also recorded his second straight victory, and 10th of the year, against a ranked foe.

“I'm really happy with Nico,” Smith added. “He's come a long way in the last couple of matches. It has overall been a tough season for him, but he's playing his best tennis. I was really happy to see him keep his composure and beat a heck of a player in Schnur. That guy has been one of the best in college the last few years. That should give Nico a lot of confidence. It was nice to end like that.”

Duke heads to the ACC Tournament at the Cary Tennis Park on Thursday. The opponent and match time are still to be determined.

#5 North Carolina 6, #64 Duke 1
April 17, 2016 at Ambler Tennis Stadium (Durham, N.C.)

Singles competition
1. #22 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) def. #29 Brayden Schnur (NC) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
2. #28 Ronnie Schneider (NC) def. TJ Pura (DU) 6-4, 6-3
3. #47 Brett Clark (NC) def. Josh Levine (DU) 6-1, 6-0
4. #114 Robert Kelly (NC) def. Daniel McCall (DU) 6-1, 6-1
5. #111 Jack Murray (NC) def. Jason Lapidus (DU) 6-3, 6-0
6. Blaine Boyden (NC) def. Andrew DeJoy (DU) 6-2, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Nicolas Alvarez/TJ Pura (DU) vs. #2 Brett Clark/Robert Kelly (NC) 3-4, unfinished
2. #29 Jack Murray/Brayden Schnur (NC) def. Daniel McCall/Jason Lapidus (DU) 6-3
3. Anudeep Kodali/Ronnie Schneider (NC) def. Josh Levine/Catalin Mateas (DU) 6-2

Match Notes
North Carolina 24-3, 9-3 ACC; National ranking #5
Duke 11-14, 4-8 ACC; National ranking #64
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,6,3,5,2,1)
Official: Reliford Sanders
T-2:28 A-452

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