The No. 5 UNC men’s tennis team (18-0, 6-0 ACC) lifted junior Will Plyer on its shoulders in celebration directly in front of senior Andre Iriarte as he limped to the bench at the Dail Outdoor Tennis Courts on Wednesday. Plyer’s game-deciding win in three sets over Iriarte took well over three hours to complete as both players spent time lying on the court in agony with severe cramps.
According to coach Jon Choboy, the match became based more on the ability to move than it did skill.
“It didn’t come down to forehands and backhands; it came down to who was standing in the end,” Choboy said. “It depended on who was going to cramp out first. And that’s what happened. [Iriarte] didn’t quit the match, but he wasn’t able to move. If he could have forced that on the other other guy, it would have been different. I mean the other guy was a millimeter from the same thing happening.”
Choboy said he was proud of Iriarte’s effort despite the loss and that the cramping was inevitable, having little to do with conditioning.
“That’s the bitter part of tennis because you can cramp up like that,” Choboy said. “Both players were cramping up, and whichever player was going to stand longer was probably going to win. But that happens a lot because you play such a long time. It has nothing to do with conditioning on either side. It’s just your body doesn’t have enough nutrients and you can’t play anymore.”
With Carolina leading 3-1 at one point in the match, the No. 20 Wolfpack (18-6, 3-4 ACC) needed to win out at No. 1, 4, and 6. Within five minutes junior Nick Cavaday and sophomore Jay Weinacker won their respective matches to tie the match at 3-3. The upset rested in the hands of Iriarte, who lost his first set. Iriarte then forced a third set after winning the second set in a tiebreaker. Then the cramping began for both players and with Iriarte’s mobility limited, Plyer pulled away 6-3, 6-7, 6-1.
Despite the loss, Choboy said he felt the team did everything possible to win and should not be disappointed.
“Our guys fought their butt off. I think if they continue to put out efforts like that, then we’re all right, and N.C. State can be proud,” Choboy said. “I’ve got nothing bad to say about our guys at all.”
“I’m disappointed for the guys, but I’m not disappointed in them at all. Anybody who saw the match knows they fought hard and they gave everything they could. That’s a good team and we have to compete really hard to win those matches, but half the guys couldn’t walk anymore.”
Choboy said the match played out much as he expected. Even the cramping and long nature of Iriarte’s match isn’t unusual in college tennis, he said.
“I felt either way, if we won the doubles or lost the doubles, it was going to come down to a 4-3 match,” Choboy said. “I think the guys knew that too and came out and really fought hard. And I think if you looked on every single court, every single guy came to play, and that’s what I expected.”
Sophomore Christian Welte, who won his match 6-1, 6-3 said the loss does not fall on Iriarte and that the team was proud of his effort. According to Welte, the inability to seize the doubles point decided the match.
“It was a pretty good fight at six there,” Welte said. “Dre gave it everything he had. We knew these guys were tough. But the doubles point was big. The doubles point probably decided the match. We knew it was going to be a fight and it was a fight. Two guys were dying there on the court basically.”
No. 5 North Carolina d. No. 20 NC State, 4-3
Doubles
1. Nick Cavaday/William Noblitt def. L. Gullan/D. Stone (UNC), 8-4
2. S. Hardy/S. Guejman (UNC) def. James McGee/Jay Weinacker, 9-7
3. T. Fougleman/C. Kearney (UNC) def. Andre Iriarte/Christian Welte, 8-4
Singles
1. Nick Cavaday def. Benjamin Carlotti (UNC), 6-4, 6-3
2. Chris Kearney (UNC) def. William Noblitt, 6-3, 6-4
3. Stefan Hardy (UNC) def. James McGee, 7-5, 7-5
4. Jay Weinacker def. Sebastian Guejman (UNC), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
5. Christian Welte def. Tristan Fogleman (UNC), 6-1, 6-3
6. Will Plyler (UNC) def. Andre Iriarte, 6-3, 6-7, 6-1