CARY, N.C. – The third-seeded Florida State men’s tennis team (27-4) got eliminated from the semifinals of the ACC Tournament after a 4-0 loss to North Carolina (22-4).
“North Carolina was the better team today,” said Hultquist. “I thought they played really good doubles. They handled us pretty solidly. Clearly, they get off to a pretty good start. There are no easy points in their lineup just like there are no easy ones in ours. We had some shots where we were up. Alex got off to a good start and Guy and Jose got off to an early break. We had an opportunity and we ended up losing those sets and that was the difference.”
For the second time this tournament the Noles fell behind 1-0 after losing the doubles point. Carolina jumped ahead 2-0 early on all three courts. On court three Florida State came back to take the lead 3-2 but that was not enough as the Tar Heels won on courts one and two.
Singles was a battle today. Florida State came out winning two of six first sets including a 6-4 win by junior Aziz Dougaz over UNC’s third-ranked William Blumberg.
Freshman Chase Wood was the first Seminole to go down as he lost 6-2, 6-1 on court six. The Tar Heels extended their lead to 3-0 after taking court four from redshirt senior Jose Gracia, 7-5, 6-2.
Down 3-0, the Noles had a glimmer of hope to come back. Dougaz was in a third set up 2-0 and senior Guy Iradukunda forced a third set and was tied 2-2. On court five sophomore Alex Knaff was leading his third set 3-2, while redshirt senior Lucas Poullain was in a tiebreaker trying to force a third set.
Knaff extended his lead to 5-2 while Iradukunda was tied 3-3 in his third set and Poullain was still fighting in a tiebreaker.
It was not enough as Dougaz could not maintain against the third best player in the country. Down 2-0 Carolina’s Blumberg went on to win six straight games and clinched it 4-0 for the Tar Heels.
The Seminoles will now wait until Tuesday, May 1 at 5:30 p.m. to see who they will be playing in this year’s NCAA tournament.
#6 North Carolina 4, #11 Florida State University 0
Singles competition
1. #3 William Blumberg (NC) def. #34 Aziz Dougaz (FS) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. #30 Benjamin Sigouin (NC) vs. #41 Guy Iradukunda (FS) 2-6, 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
3. Simon Soendergaard (NC) vs. #43 Lucas Poullain (FS) 6-4, 6-6, unfinished
4. #87 Robert Kelly (NC) def. Jose Gracia (FS) 7-5, 6-2
5. Blaine Boyden (NC) vs. Alex Knaff (FS) 4-6, 6-2, 2-4
6. Mac Kiger (NC) def. Chase Wood (FS) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #1 William Blumberg/Robert Kelly (NC) def. #62 Alex Knaff/Guy Iradukunda (FS) 6-2
2. Blaine Boyden/Benjamin Sigouin (NC) def. Aziz Dougaz/Lucas Poullain (FS) 6-2
3. Simon Soendergaard/Mac Kiger (NC) vs. Jose Gracia/Terrell Whitehurst (FS) 4-3, unfinished
Records to Watch:
- Senior twins, Terrance and Terrell Whitehurst currently have 51 doubles wins tied for fourth-most in school history as a duo.
- Redshirt senior Jose Gracia currently has 163 total doubles and singles wins in his career. He is tied for sixth in school history for most career wins.
- Gracia currently has 83 career doubles wins. He currently ranks sixth in all-time career doubles wins as an individual.
