Following a stellar start to the ACC Championships, the UNC tennis programs each saw their weekends end at the hands of Virginia’s programs.

The UNC men’s tennis team fell to the Cavaliers in the championship round Sunday afternoon 4-3. The Tar Heels claimed the early doubles point, but then dropped three consecutive singles matches.

Carolina’s Anuj Watane turned around the afternoon by beating UVA’s Bar Botzer in three sets. After that, UNC’s top singles player Brian Cernoch took his match against Virginia’s Chris Rodesch to a third set before pulling out a win and tying the score at 3-3.

UNC’s Benjamin Sigouin pushed Virginia to the brink during the finals singles match, as he rallied from losing his first set to win the second set. The final set went down to a tiebreak, with Sigouin coming back once again after being in an early 3-1 hole. But UVA’s Iñaki Montes de la Torre held serve to win 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 and deliver the Cavaliers the ACC title.

Meanwhile, the No. 1 women’s team saw their conference tournament trip end on Saturday, losing to No. 7 Virginia in the semifinals 4-2. The top-ranked Tar Heels won the previous five ACC Championships, with the Cavaliers handing Carolina its second loss in eight days after previously being undefeated.

UNC lost the opening doubles point and top-ranked player in the nation Emma Navarro beat Cameron Morra to give UVA the 2-0 lead. While UNC’s Carson Tanguilig and Fiona Crawley each won their singles matches in straight sets to tie the match, Virginia took the lead and clinched the title with wins in their next two games.

The result means the No. 1 Tar Heels will have to wait for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships — which will likely happen after spending 10 consecutive weeks at the top of national polls. The UNC men’s team is similarly projected to make the NCAA tournament.

 

Photo via Carolina Women’s Tennis/Carolina Athletics.

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