CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Tobacco Road rivalry never fails to host intensely close matchups, and yesterday’s match in Chapel Hill was no different.
Duke took No. 19 North Carolina (12-6, 7-2 in the ACC) down to the wire, but ultimately the Tar Heels snagged the 4-3 victory. North Carolina’s Jose Hernandez defeated the Blue Devils’ Henrique Cunha at No. 1 singles in a decisive three-set match.
“We got off to a bad start losing the doubles-point. We wanted to set the tone early and still feel good heading into the single matchups.” Duke head coach Ramsey Smith said.
After losing the doubles point despite the pair of Cunha and Reid Carleton winning their match, No. 10 Duke (16-8, 7-2) bounced back quickly in singles. Three Blue Devils won their matches in straight sets, including freshmen Fred Saba and Chris Mengel. Junior Luke Marchese also contributed at the No. 6 singles spot, defeating Alex Rafiee 6-0, 6-2 to become 8-1 in ACC play.
Saba was able to grab the win over No. 90 Joey Burkhardt in the No. 4 matchup, 6-1, 6-4, marking Saba’s first win over a ranked opponent. Mengel provided one of the evening’s most exciting rallies as he came back to win 7-5, 6-2 after being down 5-1 in the first set against Stefan Hardy. Mengel’s victory put him at 8-1 in ACC play this year.
“I didn’t play well at first.” Mengel said. “You could definitely feel the extra pressure of the UNC matchup. Once I was able to get my legs under me, the pressure was on [Hardy].”
Duke didn’t see the same success from its top-seeded players, who both suffered upsets at the hands of the Tar Heels. No. 9 Carleton suffered a lopsided defeat to Brennan Boyajian, 6-1, 6-1.
The most exciting match of the day proved to be the most important as Cunha took on Hernandez. The Blue Devil suffered a tough 5-7 loss in the first set, but refused to let his momentum fall as he came back to take the second set 6-2. By that time, all the other matches were completed, drawing all of the audience’s attention to the duel of No. 1’s.
“I want Cunha out there everytime.” Smith said. “Hernandez played a great match and North Carolina played well. We were just outplayed on a few points.”
At 5-4 in the final set, Hernandez clearly had the crowd in his corner as he took the final set to earn a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 upset over Duke’s highly-ranked player.
The Blue Devils will look to return to their winning ways after the loss to their rival as the team heads into its final weekend of ACC games with home matches against Florida State on Friday and Miami on Sunday.
“Playing UNC is always intense and we have no time to feel sorry as we prepare for this weekend,” Smith said.
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