Tigers Come Up Short Against No. 1 North Carolina

Box Score

CLEMSON, S.C. — The Tigers (5-5, 1-2 ACC) fell 4-0 on Friday to top-ranked North Carolina (7-0, 1-0 ACC). After a promising start to singles play which saw Clemson win four of six first sets, the Tar Heels stormed back to take the victory and improve to 6-0. 

Despite a hard fought-battle that put the Tigers in position to take the doubles point, the Tar Heels’ No. 6 ranked doubles pair held on to win line one 6-3, and ultimately, North Carolina clinched the point on Court 3, 7-5. In singles play, Teodor Giusca came out firing, winning the first set 6-1 over the nation’s no. 55 ranked player, but ultimately dropped his matchup, 6-1, 2-6, 2-6, which clinched the match for the Tar Heels. Carlos Kelaidis, Spencer Whitaker and Jorge Plans Gonzalez also earned first-set victories, though their matches were abandoned.

Of Note:

• The loss drops the Tigers to 2-21 against top-ranked opponents, their last win over a No. 1 ranked team came against Pepperdine in 1986 –Head Coach Robbie Weiss was a member of that Pepperdine squad
• The Tar Heels extended their all-time series lead over Clemson to 55-27

Up Next: 

The Tigers return to the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility on Sunday to take on the Duke Blue Devils. First serve for the match is slated for 1 pm.

For complete coverage of the Clemson men’s tennis team, follow @ClemsonMTennis on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.