THE FLATS – Redshirt freshman Andres Martin collected a singles and doubles win against No. 1 North Carolina in a 4-1 homes loss to the Tar Heels on Sunday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex.
“UNC was the better team today,” said Byers Men’s Tennis Head Coach Kenny Thorne. “We needed to execute better but still play within ourselves. I think the guy’s saw that we did not need to do anything special today, but we did need to take care of basic patterns and do it for longer periods of time. We will get better from this match.”
Martin teamed up with true freshman Chen Dong in doubles to defeat Adam Neff/Mac Kiger in a dominate 6-1 showing on court three for Techs’ (6-5, 1-3 ACC) lone double. Martin/Chen are 3-0 overall when paired together with Sunday’s effort being their second dual match victory. Martin is 10-2 overall in doubles this season, with a 7-2 dual match doubles record.
After Tech’s win on court three UNC captured the doubles point taking courts one and two.
In singles No. 59 Martin beat No. 41 Benjamin Sigouin in a quick, 6-1, 6-2, effort. Martin improved to 7-3 in dual match singles and is 5-1 when playing on court two. Martin also improved to a 2-2 record against nationally ranked opponents.
Fellow redshirt freshman Brandon McKinney was in the middle of a first set tiebreaker in a tight, 6-6, eight-all match up versus No. 100 Josh Peck, before the match was called. Redshirt junior Brandon Freestone went unfinished on court six against Logan Zapp.
McDaniel was battling back in the second set before losing, 6-0, 6-4, to the No. 2 ranked singles player in the country. McDaniel is 3-1 versus nationally ranked opponents.
The Yellow Jackets still have a .627-win percentage in dual match singles following Sunday’s contest.
Tech will be back on the court when the Jackets head to Clemson for a 5 p.m. match on Friday, March 5.
#1 North Carolina 4, Georgia Tech 1
Feb 28, 2021 at Atlanta, Ga. (Ken Byers Tennis Complex)
| Singles competition |
| 1. #2 William Blumberg (NC`) def. Marcus McDaniel (M-GT) 6-0, 6-4 |
| 2. #59 Andres Martin (M-GT) def. #41 Benjamin Sigouin (NC`) 6-1, 6-2 |
| 3. #55 Rinky Hijikata (NC`) def. Pablo Schelcher (M-GT) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 4. Brian Cernoch (NC`) def. Keshav Chopra (M-GT) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 5. Brandon McKinney (M-GT) vs. #100 Josh Peck (NC`) 6-6 (8-8), unfinished |
| 6. Brandon Freestone (M-GT) vs. Logan Zapp (NC`) 4-6, 2-4, unfinished |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. #6 William Blumberg/Brian Cernoch (NC`) def. #31 Pablo Schelcher/Marcus McDaniel (M-GT) 6-2 |
| 2. Rinky Hijikata/Benjamin Sigouin (NC`) def. Brandon McKinney/Keshav Chopra (M-GT) 6-1 |
| 3. Andres Martin/Chen Dong (M-GT) def. Adam Neff/Mac Kiger (NC`) 6-1 |
| Match Notes |
| North Carolina 7-0 (1-0 ACC); National ranking #1 |
| Georgia Tech 6-4 (1-2 ACC) |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,3,1,2) |
| Played outdoors |
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