UNC makes a racket

CARY — On a weekend destined to go down in the annals of North Carolina tennis history, the seventh-seeded UNC men’s team shocked second-seeded Duke 4-2 Friday at the Cary Tennis Center to advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

The Tar Heels had not beaten their archrivals since 1996.

Though the Tar Heels (16-10) lost to third-seeded Florida State (18-6) in the semis Saturday, their win against Duke (18-5) marked only the second time a team seeded as low as No. 7 has reached the semifinals since the tournament went to a team format in 1986.

“It feels good, it feels really good,” UNC coach Sam Paul said Friday. “I’m really proud of my guys — they won’t quit.”

In a match that featured tiebreakers in four of the six singles duels, the Tar Heels’ determination was apparent.

After winning the first set, UNC No. 1 singles player Raian Luchici battled back from a 5-2 deficit to force a tiebreaker against Duke’s Ludovic Walter in the second. Luchici then won the tiebreaker 7-5 to clinch the match.

MEN'S TENNIS UNC 4 Duke 2 UNC 2 Florida State 4

As Luchici walked to the net to congratulate his opponent, the crowd erupted in applause — the No. 70 singles player in the nation had just beaten No. 5.

“Every time (Walter) served, I had opportunities to break,” Luchici said of the comeback. “At the end, I just stepped up and was able to turn those points into games.”

Luchici’s win put the Tar Heels ahead 3-1, thanks to earlier victories by Derek Porter and Geoff Boyd. But a subsequent tiebreaker loss by Brad Pomeroy cut UNC’s lead to one.

The crowd turned its attention to court five, where UNC’s Jonathan Janda was in the throes of his third set against the Blue Devils’ Ned Samuelson. After dropping the first set, Janda had come from behind in the second to win in a tiebreaker and force a third.

Amid cries of “Here we go, Jiggy,” Janda stayed strong and emerged triumphant, defeating Samuelson 6-4. Jubilant UNC players stormed the court in celebration.

“It’s a great feeling,” Janda said. “Senior year … to finally get ’em, it’s unbelievable.”

With a historic win under their belts, the Tar Heels carried the momentum from their win against the Blue Devils into their match against the Seminoles on Saturday.

Despite losing the doubles point and two singles points at the No. 1 and No. 6 positions, both Boyd and Porter won their matches to keep the Tar Heels in contention, as they were behind only 3-2

Once again, all eyes turned to court five, where Janda was struggling to stage a comeback after losing the first set. Though he successfully forced a tiebreaker in the second set, he couldn’t outlast Florida State’s Jeff Groslimond and lost 8-6.

While he was disappointed that the team lost, Paul said he was proud of the Tar Heels’ performance nonetheless.

“(They) fought hard,” Paul said. “The good thing is now we’ve got three weeks to get ready for the NCAA Tournament. I think we’re just now starting to hit our stride.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.