#5 Duke and #18 UNC Visit College Park
April 12, 2012
LIKE! Maryland Athletics on Facebook
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 70 Maryland men's tennis team plays host to a pair of nationally ranked ACC foes this weekend at the Cole Field House Tennis Courts. In the final two home matches of the season, the Terps and 5th-ranked Blue Devils tangle Friday, April 13 at 2:30 p.m., and face the 18th-ranked Tar Heels Sunday, April 15 at noon.
Maryland
The Terps (6-13, 3-6 ACC) grabbed an important conference win over then-No. 36 NC State on the road Sunday. After suffering a tough loss Friday to Wake Forest, Maryland won the doubles point for the 12th time this season and split the singles matches for a 4-3 victory. The Terps last five matches have been decided by a single point.
Junior John Collins earned the decisive win against the Wolfpack. Collins defeated Robbie Mudge in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, for his third consecutive win. Collins is 6-3 in ACC action this spring.
With two victories over the weekend, junior Tommy Laine has won five matches in a row. Laine knocked off Wake Forest's Alex Tsai in straight sets on Friday and defeated NC State's Dave Thomson on Sunday in three sets.
The Terps are 38-18 in doubles play this season led by 33rd-ranked senior Maros Horny and Collins. The tandem is 21-10 this year and 13-6 in dual action.
Laine and freshman Vlad Stefan are 6-2 in ACC doubles competition.
With a victory this weekend, Maryland will notch its fourth conference win which would be the most since 1990.
Series History
The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 47-19 over the Terps. Maryland's last win came in 1986 when the Terps defeated the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament. Maryland also knocked off Duke during the regular season that year.
North Carolina and Maryland have met a total of 66 times with the Tar Heels winning 58 of those matchups.
Live Coverage
Match-by-match scoring will be available through umterps.com. Follow @TerpsTennis on Twitter for in-match updates.
Duke
| No. 5 Duke Blue Devils (18-4, 7-2 ACC) | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
The Blue Devils arrive in College Park coming off a three-set final-match loss to rival North Carolina on Wednesday. Prior to Wednesday's defeat, Duke won 8 of 9 matches with its only loss coming at home to No. 3 Virginia.
In singles, No. 4 Henrique Cunha lost only his seventh match of the year Wednesday. Cunha fell in three sets to No. 33 Jose Hernandez of North Carolina. Cunha is now 31-7 this year and 7-2 in ACC action.
No. 26 Chris Mengel dropped the final match of the day against No. 103 Brennan Boyajian of UNC. Mengel is 14-5 this season and 6-3 in conference play.
Duke lost the doubles point for only the sixth time this season against North Carolina. The Blue Devils are 42-17 in doubles in dual action.
Cunha has split time with Mengel and Fred Saba at the No. 1 position. Cunha and Saba are ranked 12th as a tandem, but Cunha has paired with Mengel the past nine matches. Cunha and Mengel are 6-3 this spring and ranked 28th as a pairing.
North Carolina
| No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels (12-5, 9-1 ACC) | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
The Tar Heels improved to 9-1 in the ACC with a 4-3 victory over No. 5 Duke. North Carolina has won 9 of 10 matches with its only loss coming at home to No. 3 Virginia.
No. 33 Jose Hernandez and No. 103 Brennan Boyajian are a combined 16-2 in ACC action. Hernandez has eight victories over ranked opponents this year, while Boyajian has earned four.
UNC has won the doubles point the last four matches. No. 30 Hernandez and Joey Burkhardt are 9-1 in ACC play and 10-2 this season.
