Duke blanks men's tennis

The stakes were high at North Carolina’s men’s tennis match against Duke at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center on Wednesday — the 44th-ranked Tar Heels (14-8, 4-5 in the ACC) had not beaten their archrival since 1996.

But the stakes were even higher for senior Geoff Boyd. Not only was it the last home match of his career, it was also his last chance to feel the satisfaction of a Blue Devil defeat.

During his match against Duke’s No. 3 player, Stephen Amritraj, Boyd’s determination was apparent. After losing the first set 6-2, Boyd rallied for a 6-3 victory in the second and went up 4-2 in the third.

MEN'S TENNIS Duke 7 UNC 0

Despite dropping the next three games to go down 5-4, Boyd held on to even the score at 5 a piece. But he couldn’t close the deal and ultimately lost by a score of 7-5.

With Boyd’s loss, the rout was complete — Duke had defeated the Tar Heels 7-0.

“I’m just really disappointed,” Boyd said dejectedly.

Coach Sam Paul concurred.

“They just flat out beat us,” he said. “You gotta give them credit.”

While the No. 5 Blue Devils (17-3, 7-1) gave a stellar performance, many Tar Heels, like Boyd, had chances for victory.

In doubles competition, UNC’s No. 1 team of Boyd and Brad Pomeroy tied their match against Duke’s Ludovic Walter and Jason Zimmerman at 8-8, only to lose 4-7 in the tiebreaker.

At one point in his first set, Raian Luchici — UNC’s No. 1 singles player — enjoyed a 4-1 lead against Walter, the nation’s third-ranked singles player.

But Luchici failed to win a game the rest of the match.

“I started really well,” Luchici said. “Even after 4-1, I was still hitting the ball pretty clean. I just happened to make some mistakes, (and) he stepped up and hit some great shots.”

Wednesday’s defeat extends UNC’s losing streak to three matches. But with the ACC Tournament looming just around the corner, the team is determined to secure a win against No. 35 Georgia Tech on Sunday — the Tar Heels’ final match of the regular season.

“Our focus right now is getting ready for Georgia Tech,” Paul said.

To that end, Paul said, the match against Duke highlighted some things UNC needs to work on, namely making more first serves under pressure and challenging opponents more in doubles.

For his part, Boyd said he is determined to bring home a victory Sunday.

“Georgia Tech’s a big one for us,” he said. “We’ll be ready for them.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.