Duke Victorious over No. 17 North Carolina, 5-2

Wednesday, March 16

Durham, N.C.

3 p.m.

Duke University

[17] North Carolina

Duke celebrates after defeating North Carolina for the first time since 2014.

Duke Victorious over No. 17 North Carolina, 5-2

3/16/2022 9:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – No. 18 Duke men's tennis defeated its third consecutive top-25 opponent on Wednesday afternoon after it beat North Carolina, 5-2, in Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

The Blue Devils upended the Tar Heels for the first time since April 20, 2014, and have now strung together four-straight wins. Duke shifts to 11-4 overall and 4-1 in ACC play with the victory, while North Carolina dips to 8-6 and 3-2, respectively.

"We have a lot of respect for UNC and what they've been able to do over the last couple years but I'm just really happy that our guys dug in and competed as well as they did to finish the match strong," Duke head coach Ramsey Smith said.

Junior Garrett Johns clinched the win for the Blue Devils on the top court after he bested No. 22 Brian Cernoch in an exciting three sets. The Atlanta, Ga., native recorded a 7-6 (2) tie-break victory in the opening set but dropped the second by a close 7-6 (4) decision. He would battle in the third with his nationally ranked foe and pull out the 6-3 win for his eighth dual singles victory and fifth over a ranked opponent.

"He's a really good player, so the first and second sets were close at 7-6," Johns said. "I just knew I had to stay tough because we had three matches left and we only needed to get one. We were super close in points at the end of the third set, so it was just awesome to pull it out for the team."

Duke claimed five of the six singles matches after dropping the doubles point.

"A lot of fight and competing from our team today," Smith said when asked about what he saw from his squad. "Obviously we got down early losing the doubles point and got down in singles quickly too. But our team stuck together and were able to dig in and slowly regain the momentum. I thought the team's spirit and energy was phenomenal as well. Edu (Güell) was exceptional down on court five. Connor (Krug) dropped his first set and then totally flipped the match for us by battling back. And then Garrett, that's the best match he's played this year. It was just great tennis from both sides."

The Tar Heels earned the doubles point to kick off the match. No. 57 Logan Zapp and Casey Kania teamed up to best Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni 6-2 on court two. No. 8 Brian Cernoch and Mac Kiger then defeated Sean Sculley and Connor Krug on the main court, 6-3, to register the overall point. The doubles match on court three between Duke's Johns and Andrew Dale against North Carolina's Benjamin Sigouin and Peter Murphy went unfinished with the Blue Devils' leading 5-4.

Andrew Zhang tied the match up at 1-1 in singles action after he won by default over Sigouin on court two. Güell and Krug continued that momentum by besting Zapp and Kiger on court five and three, respectively. Güell tallied 6-4, 6-2 victories over Zapp, before Krug battled back after dropping his opening frame 6-2 for 6-3, 6-4 wins in the second and third, respectively.

Johns then secured the match with his victory over Cernoch.

North Carolina finally registered its second point of the day when Anuj Watane defeated Dale 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 on court six. Fortunately, Khan handed the Blue Devils one final point following his three-set victory on court four over Henry Lieberman 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (3).

"This is just really good for our confidence," Johns said. "We had a lot of tough matches at the beginning of the year but to just get these three under our belt was really good for the rest of the season and finishing out ACC play."

Smith added that his team has really come together over the last few weeks.

"They're buying into everything we've been talking about. It's a group of guys that just love to play tennis. On their off days, they're playing on their own. It's actually hard to get them off the court. But it's a great team chemistry and we have a lot of great players. We had a lot of great players who didn't play today, but it's all about the team win and everyone is fully bought into that."

The Blue Devils are back on the road Friday when they travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for a 3 p.m. matchup with Boston College. Live stats will be available for this contest.

RESULTS
Doubles (2,1*)
1. #8 Brian Cernoch/Mac Kiger (UNC) def. Sean Sculley/Connor Krug (DU) 6-3
2. #57 Logan Zapp/Casey Kania (UNC) def. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) 6-2
3. Garrett Johns/Andrew Dale (DU) vs. Benjamin Sigouin/Peter Murphy (UNC) 5-4, unfinished

Singles (2,5,3,1*,6,4)
1. Garrett Johns (DU) def. #22 Brian Cernoch (UNC) 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3
2. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) 2-6, 3-0, retired
3. Connor Krug (DU) def. Mac Kiger (UNC) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Faris Khan (DU) def. Henry Lieberman (UNC) 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-3)
5. Edu Güell (DU) def. Logan Zapp (UNC) 6-4, 6-2
6. Anuj Watane (UNC) def. Andrew Dale (DU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3

#GoDuke