Men's Tennis Drops Conference Opener To Wake Forest
Courtesy of Tarheelblue.com

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The 12th-ranked University of North Carolina men's tennis team lost the first match of its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule Tuesday as the No. 31 Wake Forest Demon Deacons dropped the Tar Heels 4-3 in a match at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels lost the doubles point for the first time all year and were unable to recover as the Demon Deacons scored four of the match's first five points to clinch the victory. The loss, Carolina's first this season, moves the Tar Heels to 15-1 overall and 0-1 in the ACC. Wake Forest improves to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.

"We've got to fight hard, and I'm concerned that we didn't come out with enough hunger and enough energy and really want it," said Carolina head coach Sam Paul. "I think we can play better and play smarter. I don't think we played a very good tennis match.

"You've got to give Wake Forest credit because they outplayed us, but we can play with a lot more hunger, a lot more fight and a lot more grit."

Wake Forest went ahead 1-0 by claiming the doubles point against the Tar Heels who were playing without one of their top doubles performers. David Stone, who normally pairs with Lenny Gullan at No. 2 for the Tar Heels, missed the match with an ankle injury. The pair is ranked 78th in the country in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Poll.

With the absence of Stone, Carolina moved the pairing of Sebastian Guejman and Derek Porter to the No. 2 spot and Gullan joined senior Aly Mandour at the No. 3 spot.

Gullan and Mandour fell 8-4 to Wake Forest's pairing of Brett Ross and Charles Sartor before the Deacons clinched the doubles point with a victory by Todd Paul and Andrew Hamar at No. 1. Paul and Hamar defeated Carolina's pairing of Raian Luchici and Brad Pomeroy, the sixth-ranked doubles team in the country, in a tiebreaker 9-8 (5). Guejman and Porter fought hard for the Tar Heels but fell to Wake's tandem of Cory Parr and Mariusz Adamski by an identical score.

The match marked the first time that the Tar Heels have lost the doubles point all year. That loss proved costly as the match was decided by only one point.

The Deacons increased their lead to 2-0 in singles play as Todd Paul, ranked 15th in the country, took out Carolina's Raian Luchici, ranked 10th, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1.

The Tar Heels attempted to fight back as senior Brad Pomeroy narrowed the Deacons lead to 2-1 after defeating Cory Parr 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3. It proved to be too little as Wake Forest's Brett Ross scored a victory over Carolina's Benjamin Carlotti 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 and 69th-ranked Andrew Hamar clinched the victory for the Demon Deacons with at 6-3, 7-5 victory over Derek Porter at No. 2.

The Tar Heels earned their last two points when sophomore Will Plyler defeated Charles Sartor 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6 and junior Sebastian Guejman took out Mariusz Adamski in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 5.

"The loss is disappointing, but now we have a chance to get back to work and try to accomplish some of our season goals," Pomeroy said. "It's just one loss. It's not the end of the season and now we've got to get back to work."

The Tar Heels will have a chance to get back to work quickly as they host two matches this weekend against ACC foes. Carolina will take on No. 3 Clemson University Saturday and No. 27 Georgia Tech Sunday. Both matches begin at 1 p.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.