Ill Tar Heels Dominate Play

But the Camels' second seed, Juan Osorio, refused to give up.

Osorio faced off against North Carolina senior David Cheatwood in singles play. The outcome of the dual match, a 6-1 UNC victory, was decided long before the two stopped playing.

"I want to give everything I can to the court," Osorio said. "In the third set I was tired, but I could see that he was tired too, so I pushed and tried to get him more tired than me."

Even with Osorio's perseverance in his three-set victory, two injuries and a lineup shift after doubles play made it difficult for Campbell to present even a flu-ridden UNC (2-0) with much of a challenge.

"I was a little worried coming into the match because we're battling the flu," coach Sam Paul said. "Four of our players have the flu. We're not well."

Paul had no need to worry.

Campbell lost Sasa Ljumic during the top-seeded doubles match against freshman Nick Monroe and junior Marcio Petrone. Ljumic aggravated a back injury and finished the game, but did not make at appearance at his normal No. 3 slot during singles.

Hence, the Camel lineup change. Players shifted up a seed, and without their No. 5 player Loic Legoff healthy either, the Campbell lineup left something to be desired.

The sick Tar Heels claimed victory in all their doubles matches and five out of six singles bouts.

Fifth-seed Chad Riley hacked his way to a 6-2, 6-3 victory. The rest of UNC joined him in straight-set singles wins.

Except for the match that wouldn't end.

Cheatwood's strong serve and fast shots couldn't stifle Osorio's endurance. Every skilled shot Cheatwood made, Osorio rallied. He ran relentlessly all over the court returning shots that Cheatwood never expected to come back over the net.

In the end, Osorio's endless energy won the match 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

"I just didn't have that much energy from the start, and it just got worse," Cheatwood said. "He just got more balls back. I had the bigger game, but I got tired and started making quick errors, trying to end the point early."

Despite UNC's dominance over the rest of the field, the win was not taken for granted.

"When we play a team like this we can work on a lot of things," Monroe said. "It will help us in the next match."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.