After a disappointing showing in the ITA Kick-Off event in January, the No. 23 UNC men’s tennis team got its mojo back in a big way against No. 13 South Carolina on Sunday, defeating the Gamecocks 4-2 in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels picked up the crucial doubles point to open the match, with the team of Logan Zapp and Casey Kania winning 7-5 before Brian Cernoch and Mac Kiger defeated the No. 7-ranked South Carolina team of Connor Thompson and Daniel Rodrigues.

Anuj Watane took a straight sets win to open up singles play, and Kiger bounced back from a second-set loss to defeat Thompson 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to put Carolina a point away from victory at 3-1. South Carolina would win the next singles match, but then Cernoch sealed the victory with a 7-6, 1-6, 6-4 win.

UNC is now 5-1 in 2022. Sunday’s result was also the first loss of the year for South Carolina, who dropped to 9-1.

“We’ve still got a lot to learn from today,” said head coach Sam Paul. “South Carolina could easily end up being a top 10 team, so it’s a good win for us.”

The Tar Heels will take their first ranked dual win of the season into another challenging home matchup. No. 22 NC State, sitting just one spot above Carolina in the latest poll, will visit Chapel Hill on Thursday.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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