Rice University
North Carolina
No. 30 Rice Stumbles Against No. 22 UNC
2/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 9, 2007
HOUSTON -- In their toughest bout of the young season, the No. 30 Rice men suffered their first loss of the year, falling 4-2 to No. 22 North Carolina on Friday afternoon at the Downtown Club at the Met.
The Owls' Ralph Knupfer and Tobias Scheil scored a victory at No. 1 doubles, downing the Tar Heels' Lenny Gullan and David Stone 8-6. UNC claimed the doubles point, though, with close wins in the other two matches.
In singles, Christoph Müller got Rice on the scoreboard with his quick dismantling of Will Plyler at No. 5, 6-2, 6-0. The victory improved his record to 5-0 in duals, with all five coming in straight sets. The Owls' Ben Harknett, ranked 50th in the nation, upset 25th-ranked Benjamin Carlotti 7-6, 2-6, 6-4 at the top of the ladder. The win was Harknett's third in a row since returning to the lineup for the Owls after an injury and second against a ranked foe.
Rice (5-1) will look to rebound on Sunday, hosting No. 66 Vanderbilt in a 12:30 pm match at the Downtown Club at the Met. The dual will be the Owls' last in Houston until March 23 when they host the 46th Annual Rice Invitational at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium.
Results
No. 22 North Carolina 4, No. 30 Rice 2
Doubles
1) Knupfer/Scheil (RU) def. Lenny Gullan/David Stone (UNC), 8-6
2) Guejman/Hardy (UNC) def. Mok/Müller (RU), 8-6
3) Kearney/Fogleman (UNC) def. Harknett/Filip Zivojinovic (RU), 9-7
Singles
1) No. 50 Ben Harknett (RU) def. No. 25 Benjamin Carlotti (UNC), 7-6, 2-6, 6-4
2) Stefan Hardy (UNC) def. Filip Paroci (RU), 6-3, 6-4
3) Chris Kearney (UNC) def. Ralph Knupfer (RU), 6-4, 6-2
4) Sebastian Guejman (UNC) def. Tobias Scheil (RU), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
5) Christoph Müller (RU) def. Will Plyler (UNC), 6-2, 6-0
6) Jason Mok (RU) vs. Taylor Fogleman (UNC), 4-6, 7-6, 3-4 (DNF)
Players Mentioned
