Saturday, January 27
Chapel Hill
12:30 PM
North Carolina
vs
UNC vs. Drake
The Tar Heels will look to William Blumberg (left) and Robert Kelly for leadership this spring.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Tar Heels Look To Build Off Historic Season
January 27, 2018 | Men's Tennis, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Behind strong leadership from seniors Jack Murray and Ronnie Schneider, the North Carolina men's tennis team reached new heights last season.
The Tar Heels, who had never advanced past the NCAA quarterfinals, made the NCAA championship match for the first time in school history. They lost 4-2 against Virginia. But they still achieved their highest-ever season-ending rank, No. 3 in the final ITA poll.
Only four years prior, UNC missed the NCAA Tournament in 2013. Murray and Schneider arrived the next season, though, and rejuvenated the program.
They're gone now. But with two key additions and the returns of players like William Blumberg, the 2017 NCAA singles runner-up, the Tar Heels will look to continue building on their recent success with what Sam Paul calls one of the deepest teams in program history.
"I think there's a lot of personnel," said Paul, who is in his 25th season as UNC's head coach. "We go nine, 10 deep. It's a good problem to have, but you want to make sure you're playing the right personnel and you're giving opportunities to play. We'll learn that as the season goes on."
After defeating Bucknell, Wofford and Campbell to start the spring season, the Tar Heels' first true learning opportunity comes this weekend.
UNC hosts Drake, Michigan and South Carolina in the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday and Sunday at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. With a win over Drake on Saturday, the Tar Heels would face the winner of Michigan and South Carolina on Sunday for a spot in the ITA National Team Indoors, held Feb. 16-19 in Seattle.
Here are three things to know about the team entering the event:
Blumberg's encore
Except for three matches last season in which he appeared at No. 1, Blumberg predominantly played at No. 2 singles en route to a 31-3 record and being named 2017 ITA National Rookie of the Year.
Blumberg figures to be UNC's primary No. 1 singles player with Schneider gone; he's won at that position in the two spring matches he's participated in. And his consistency will be crucial.
"The thing about William that's so good is he's just such a great team guy," Paul said. "With everything he's done on the court, I can tell you right now he's a million times a better person. It's just tremendous to be around him."
Paul said Blumberg's strength and conditioning have improved since last season. That paid dividends in the fall, when Blumberg became the first Tar Heel to win the ITA Men's All-American Championship.
"I think that's helped him a lot, helps him feel better on the court," Paul said.
Looking for leadership
Robert Kelly, who went 28-9 in singles last season, is the team's only senior. But he's not the only player who Paul said can draw on experience and fill the leadership voids left by Murray and Schneider.
Paul specifically mentioned Blumberg and junior Blaine Boyden, who posted a 27-8 singles record last year.
"They all sort of lead in different ways," Paul said. "Some of them lead by example, some of them are verbal leaders. We talk about leadership, really, for all of them. All of them have different roles that they need to play, whether they're freshmen or whatever."
Fresh faces
The start of the spring season coincided with the additions of two outstanding freshmen in Benjamin Sigouin and Mac Kiger. They were ranked No. 1 and No. 9, respectively, in the 2017 recruiting class, according to tennisrecruiting.net.
"They're definitely going to contribute a lot to our program," Paul said. "We're just happy to get started and get them here … They both came in with great resumes, so we're happy to get them."
In four of the last five seasons, UNC has had at least one freshman enroll in January. Paul said constantly talking to them and getting them into practice is key to helping them acclimate.
Sigouin and Kiger could benefit this weekend from playing in the team's first three matches. They went a combined 5-0 in singles, primarily playing at the No. 2 and No. 6 positions, respectively.
"College tennis is a little bit different for them, just to be here," Paul said. "That's why it's good for us to get some warmup matches in last weekend, and we're ready to get them going."
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Behind strong leadership from seniors Jack Murray and Ronnie Schneider, the North Carolina men's tennis team reached new heights last season.
The Tar Heels, who had never advanced past the NCAA quarterfinals, made the NCAA championship match for the first time in school history. They lost 4-2 against Virginia. But they still achieved their highest-ever season-ending rank, No. 3 in the final ITA poll.
Only four years prior, UNC missed the NCAA Tournament in 2013. Murray and Schneider arrived the next season, though, and rejuvenated the program.
They're gone now. But with two key additions and the returns of players like William Blumberg, the 2017 NCAA singles runner-up, the Tar Heels will look to continue building on their recent success with what Sam Paul calls one of the deepest teams in program history.
"I think there's a lot of personnel," said Paul, who is in his 25th season as UNC's head coach. "We go nine, 10 deep. It's a good problem to have, but you want to make sure you're playing the right personnel and you're giving opportunities to play. We'll learn that as the season goes on."
After defeating Bucknell, Wofford and Campbell to start the spring season, the Tar Heels' first true learning opportunity comes this weekend.
UNC hosts Drake, Michigan and South Carolina in the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday and Sunday at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. With a win over Drake on Saturday, the Tar Heels would face the winner of Michigan and South Carolina on Sunday for a spot in the ITA National Team Indoors, held Feb. 16-19 in Seattle.
Here are three things to know about the team entering the event:
Blumberg's encore
Except for three matches last season in which he appeared at No. 1, Blumberg predominantly played at No. 2 singles en route to a 31-3 record and being named 2017 ITA National Rookie of the Year.
Blumberg figures to be UNC's primary No. 1 singles player with Schneider gone; he's won at that position in the two spring matches he's participated in. And his consistency will be crucial.
"The thing about William that's so good is he's just such a great team guy," Paul said. "With everything he's done on the court, I can tell you right now he's a million times a better person. It's just tremendous to be around him."
Paul said Blumberg's strength and conditioning have improved since last season. That paid dividends in the fall, when Blumberg became the first Tar Heel to win the ITA Men's All-American Championship.
"I think that's helped him a lot, helps him feel better on the court," Paul said.
Looking for leadership
Robert Kelly, who went 28-9 in singles last season, is the team's only senior. But he's not the only player who Paul said can draw on experience and fill the leadership voids left by Murray and Schneider.
Paul specifically mentioned Blumberg and junior Blaine Boyden, who posted a 27-8 singles record last year.
"They all sort of lead in different ways," Paul said. "Some of them lead by example, some of them are verbal leaders. We talk about leadership, really, for all of them. All of them have different roles that they need to play, whether they're freshmen or whatever."
Fresh faces
The start of the spring season coincided with the additions of two outstanding freshmen in Benjamin Sigouin and Mac Kiger. They were ranked No. 1 and No. 9, respectively, in the 2017 recruiting class, according to tennisrecruiting.net.
"They're definitely going to contribute a lot to our program," Paul said. "We're just happy to get started and get them here … They both came in with great resumes, so we're happy to get them."
In four of the last five seasons, UNC has had at least one freshman enroll in January. Paul said constantly talking to them and getting them into practice is key to helping them acclimate.
Sigouin and Kiger could benefit this weekend from playing in the team's first three matches. They went a combined 5-0 in singles, primarily playing at the No. 2 and No. 6 positions, respectively.
"College tennis is a little bit different for them, just to be here," Paul said. "That's why it's good for us to get some warmup matches in last weekend, and we're ready to get them going."
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