Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG, Va. – The 16th-ranked Virginia Tech men’s tennis team downed 14th-ranked North Carolina, 4-3 on Sunday afternoon in ACC action at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Va. Tech improves to 14-2 overall and 6-1 in the league.
“This was a great win for our team,” said head coach Jim Thompson. “North Carolina beat us earlier in the season in a close match, so it was good to see the guys come out here today and turn it around in another close match. This is another one of those wins that will help to build our confidence going into a stretch of road matches.”
The Tar Heels (14-8, 3-3 ACC) took the early lead, winning the doubles point with decisions on courts two and three. Tech’s 64th-ranked Andreas Bjerrehus and Hunter Koontz were up 7-3 over UNC’s 27th-ranked Esben Hess-Olsen and Oystein Steiro, but the match went unfinished once the point was decided.
Tech tied it up with the first finished singles match as Jai Corbett defeated Steiro 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 5. The Hokies took the lead with Edoardo Tessaro’s 6-4, 7-5 decision over 99th-ranked Robert Kelly on court four.
UNC knotted it back up in the No. 3 where Jack Murray battled Koontz to three sets. Koontz took the first set 6-1, but Murray came back to hold on for a 7-5 win in the second. In the final set, Murray secured it 6-2.
Aaron Gomez put the Hokies back on top as he won the No. 6 in straight set tiebreakers. The two players traded points in the first set and were knotted at 6-6 to force the tiebreaker, but Gomez dominated, taking it 7-2. In the second set, the two kept it close again to go into the tiebreaker where Gomez secured the win 7-4.
Carolina again tied it up with a win on court two. Tech’s 109th-ranked Joao Monteiro fell to 69th-ranked Brett Clark 6-3, 5-7, 2-6.
The deciding match came down to the No. 1 as the Hokies’ 45th-ranked Bjerrehus squared off against 24th-ranked Ronnie Schneider. Bjerrehus won the opening set 6-3. In the second set, the Tech player trailed at 4-1, but won four of the next five points to knot it up at 5-5. Schneider held on in the second to win it 7-5. Bjerrehus broke two serves in the final set, including match-point, to secure the win 6-3, giving the Hokies the 4-3 victory.
Virginia Tech will return to the court on Friday, April 3 when the Hokies take to the road to face No. 23 Louisville.
Singles
1. #45 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT) def. #24 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
2. #69 Brett Clark (UNC) def. #109 Joao Monteiro (VT) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. Jack Murray (UNC) def. Hunter Koontz (VT) 6-1, 4-6, 1-6
4. Edoardo Tessaro (VT) def. #99 Robert Kelly (UNC) 6-4, 7-5
5. Jai Corbett (VT) def. Oystein Steiro (UNC) 6-3, 6-3
6. Aaron Gomez (VT) def. Stuart DePaolo (UNC) 7-6(2), 7-6(4)
Order of finish: 5,4,3,6,2,1
Doubles
1. #64 Bjerrehus/Koontz (VT) vs. #27 Hess-Olsen/Steiro (UNC) 7-3 dnf
2. Clark/Kelly (UNC) def. Monteiro/Tessaro (VT) 8-4
3. Murray/Schneider (UNC) def. Corbett/Florian Nicoud (VT) 8-3
Order of finish: 3,2