The No. 6 seed UNC men’s tennis team made a spirited comeback attempt on Monday in Orlando, before ultimately falling 4-3 to No. 11 Georgia in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.

Georgia (17-6) won the doubles point to begin the match, then went ahead 2-0 with a singles victory from Phillip Henning (6-3, 6-4) on Court Three against UNC’s Benjamin Sigouin.

Brian Cernoch (4-6, 6-2, 6-4) and Rinky Hijikata (6-3, 7-6) each won their respective singles matches for UNC to tie the team score at 2-2.

The Bulldogs answered with a victory on Court Six by Erik Grevelius (7-6, 6-1) over UNC’s Simon Soendergaard, but again the Tar Heels would have a response–this time a victory by William Blumberg (6-2, 7-6) on Court One.

In the deciding match, however, Georgia’s Billy Rowe got the best of UNC’s Josh Peck (7-6, 6-4) to send the Bulldogs into the quarterfinals.

The Tar Heels will finish their dual match season with a record of 21-4 and the title of ITA National Indoor Champions.

“Congratulations to Georgia, they played a great match,” Tar Heel head coach Sam Paul said afterwards. “I’m really proud of my seniors and the fun ride they’ve taken us on, but it just wasn’t our day. It’s very painful, especially for our fifth-year seniors who’ve had such successful careers at Carolina. But Georgia out-played us today.”

 

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

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