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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 18 Virginia Tech men’s tennis squad battled, but fell short against No. 20 North Carolina, 4-3, in Chapel Hill, N.C., as the Tar Heels won the last match of the day at No. 3 singles to clinch the victory.

After Sebastien Jacques (Jr., Magog, Quebec Canada) dropped the No. 6 singles match to Zach Hunter of North Carolina, 7-6, 6-0, Patrick Daciek (So., Severna Park, Md.) brought the Hokies back with an upset of No. 108 Brennan Boyajian, 6-2, 7-6, at No. 4 singles. In a matchup of two ranked opponents at No. 2 singles, UNC’s No. 78 Jose Hernandez defeated No. 61 Luka Somen (So., Karlovac, Croatia), 6-3, 7-5.

Will Beck (Jr., Potamac, Md.) dominated Andrew Crone of North Carolina to keep Tech in the lead with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 5 singles. The Tar Heels refused to go away though and won the next two matches to steal the contest from the Hokies. No. 51 Clay Donato of North Carolina defeated No. 38 Yoann Re (Sr., Verdun Quebec, Canada) in a close, three-set match, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci (So., Reggio Emilia, Italy) and the Tar Heels’ Stefan Hardy played the clinching match in an epic contest. Degl’ Incerti Tocci won the first set in a tie-break, 7-5, but dropped the next two sets, 5-7 and 6-3, respectively, to seal the match for North Carolina.

The Tar Heels won the first doubles match at No. 1 doubles as 17^th-ranked Donato/Hardy defeated Beck/Daciek, but the Hokies rallied to capture the next two matches and win the doubles point. At No. 3 doubles, Somen/Tocci outlasted the Tar Heels’ Crone/Hernandez, 8-6, then Jacques/Re took down North Carolina’s Ahari/Boyajian, 8-6, to seal the doubles point.

Tech returns to the court on Wednesday in Blacksburg at the Burrows/Burleson Tennis Center against Virginia Commonwealth University. Results will be available at hokiesports.com.

#20 North Carolina 4, #18 Virginia Tech 3
Singles
1. #51 Clay Donato (UNC) def. #38 Yoann Re (VT) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
2. #78 Jose Hernandez (UNC) def. #61 Luka Somen (VT) 6-3, 7-5
3. #108 Stefan Hardy (UNC) def. Corrado Degl’ Incerti Tocci (VT) 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
4. Patrick Daciek (VT) def. #108 Brennan Boyajian (UNC) 6-2, 7-6
5. Will Beck (VT) def. Andrew Crone (UNC) 6-4, 6-4
6. Zach Hunter (UNC) def. Sebastien Jacques(VT) 7-6, 6-0

Order of finish:6,4,2,5,1,3*

Doubles
1. #17 Donato/Hardy (UNC) def. Beck/Daciek (VT) 8-3
2. Jacques/Re (VT) def. Ahari/Boyajian (UNC) 8-6
3. Somen/Tocci (VT) def. Crone/Hernandez (UNC) 8-6
Order of finish: 1,3,2*

* Clinching point

For updates on Virginia Tech men's tennis, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MTennis).