Sunday, April 15
Chapel Hill
1:00 PM
North Carolina
4
vs
0
Clemson
The Tar Heels saluted Robert Kelly Sunday on Senior Day.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tar Heels Celebrate Kelly With Senior Day Win
April 15, 2018 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It was the Tar Heels' eighth shutout, their ninth Atlantic Coast Conference men's tennis win and their final home match of the regular season, and it was started outside but finished inside due to a passing storm. Yet the biggest story of the day was Robert Kelly, UNC's sole fourth-year player who was honored in Senior Day ceremonies right after Carolina locked up the doubles point en route to a 4-0 win over Clemson Sunday at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
"What a career Robert Kelly has had," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "I'm happy for him, and it's a good win for us."
With the victory, UNC improved to 18-4 overall and 9-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Clemson fell to 9-10 (3-8).
In doubles, UNC sophomore Simon Soendergaard and freshman Mac Kiger sped to a 6-0 victory on Court 3, then junior Blaine Boyden and freshman Benjamin Sigouin won 6-1 on Court 1 to claim the doubles point in less than 30 minutes.
Leading 1-0, Tar Heels paused before singles to honor Kelly, with his parents, Robert and Jane, and his brother, Jeremy, who is a sophomore on the UNC soccer team, joining the group on the court. His teammates lined up behind Kelly as Paul said a few words about him to the crowd, then the Tar Heels again had his back when play started. ""Rob has helped me so much and has done so much for the program," Kiger said. "We want to send him off the right way, so we definitely came out with a little bit of an edge."
As singles play began, Kelly's importance was obvious, as four of the six courts were occupied by freshmen and sophomores. (Boyden, a junior, and Kelly the other two.)
Sophomore Josh Peck, playing on Court 6, earned a quick 6-0, 6-0 win over Reed Rabideau and was the only Tar Heel to wrap up play outside. Dark clouds had been threatening and just a minute after Peck's win the rain poured down and sent the teams and their fans to the indoor courts. Action paused for just over 20 minutes for dry-off and warm-up, and then UNC quickly earned the last two points it needed.
Kiger was the first to finish after the move indoors, wrapping up a 6-2, 6-3 win on Court 5. Boyden clinched the win minutes later when he won 6-2, 6-2 on Court 4. With the Tar Heels leading 4-0, the first three courts were suspended.
One of those was Kelly's match, so he got neither a singles nor a doubles decision Sunday, although he led in both. But Paul was quick to list his senior's many honors afterward, including the fact that he's on track to be just the fourth player in program history to earn All-America honors in three or more seasons. Kelly is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in doubles (with sophomore William Blumberg) after earning doubles All-America honors in 2016 and 2017.
Kelly, a global studies major from Chapel Hill, currently has a career record of 113-33 in singles and 106-28 in doubles.
"He's been ranked No. 1 in the country with two different partners – there aren't many college guys who can say that," Paul said. "I'm proud of him."
The Tar Heels close out the regular season with ACC matches at Florida State on Friday and at Miami next Sunday.
No. 8 UNC 4, Clemson 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (3,2)
1. #1 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC) vs. #31 Favrot/Baudry (CU), 5-2
2. Sigouin/Boyden (UNC) d. Liu/Edwards (CU), 6-1
3. Soendergarrd/Kiger (UNC) d. Kelaidis/Dagostine (CU), 6-0
Singles
Order of match finish: (6,5,4)
1. #33 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) vs. #64 Alex Favrot (CU), 6-4, 5-2 UF
2. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) vs. Simon Baudry (CU), 6-4, 2-3 UF
3. #100 Robert Kelly (UNC) vs. Yizhou Liu (CU), 7-5, 2-3 UF
4. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Sam Edwards (CU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Mac Kiger (UNC) d. Carlos Kelaidis (CU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Josh Peck (UNC) d. Reed Rabideau (CU), 6-0, 6-0
Records: UNC 18-4 (9-1 ACC), Clemson 9-10 (3-8 ACC)
"What a career Robert Kelly has had," UNC coach Sam Paul said. "I'm happy for him, and it's a good win for us."
With the victory, UNC improved to 18-4 overall and 9-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Clemson fell to 9-10 (3-8).
In doubles, UNC sophomore Simon Soendergaard and freshman Mac Kiger sped to a 6-0 victory on Court 3, then junior Blaine Boyden and freshman Benjamin Sigouin won 6-1 on Court 1 to claim the doubles point in less than 30 minutes.
Leading 1-0, Tar Heels paused before singles to honor Kelly, with his parents, Robert and Jane, and his brother, Jeremy, who is a sophomore on the UNC soccer team, joining the group on the court. His teammates lined up behind Kelly as Paul said a few words about him to the crowd, then the Tar Heels again had his back when play started. ""Rob has helped me so much and has done so much for the program," Kiger said. "We want to send him off the right way, so we definitely came out with a little bit of an edge."
As singles play began, Kelly's importance was obvious, as four of the six courts were occupied by freshmen and sophomores. (Boyden, a junior, and Kelly the other two.)
Sophomore Josh Peck, playing on Court 6, earned a quick 6-0, 6-0 win over Reed Rabideau and was the only Tar Heel to wrap up play outside. Dark clouds had been threatening and just a minute after Peck's win the rain poured down and sent the teams and their fans to the indoor courts. Action paused for just over 20 minutes for dry-off and warm-up, and then UNC quickly earned the last two points it needed.
Kiger was the first to finish after the move indoors, wrapping up a 6-2, 6-3 win on Court 5. Boyden clinched the win minutes later when he won 6-2, 6-2 on Court 4. With the Tar Heels leading 4-0, the first three courts were suspended.
One of those was Kelly's match, so he got neither a singles nor a doubles decision Sunday, although he led in both. But Paul was quick to list his senior's many honors afterward, including the fact that he's on track to be just the fourth player in program history to earn All-America honors in three or more seasons. Kelly is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in doubles (with sophomore William Blumberg) after earning doubles All-America honors in 2016 and 2017.
Kelly, a global studies major from Chapel Hill, currently has a career record of 113-33 in singles and 106-28 in doubles.
"He's been ranked No. 1 in the country with two different partners – there aren't many college guys who can say that," Paul said. "I'm proud of him."
The Tar Heels close out the regular season with ACC matches at Florida State on Friday and at Miami next Sunday.
No. 8 UNC 4, Clemson 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (3,2)
1. #1 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC) vs. #31 Favrot/Baudry (CU), 5-2
2. Sigouin/Boyden (UNC) d. Liu/Edwards (CU), 6-1
3. Soendergarrd/Kiger (UNC) d. Kelaidis/Dagostine (CU), 6-0
Singles
Order of match finish: (6,5,4)
1. #33 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) vs. #64 Alex Favrot (CU), 6-4, 5-2 UF
2. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) vs. Simon Baudry (CU), 6-4, 2-3 UF
3. #100 Robert Kelly (UNC) vs. Yizhou Liu (CU), 7-5, 2-3 UF
4. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Sam Edwards (CU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Mac Kiger (UNC) d. Carlos Kelaidis (CU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Josh Peck (UNC) d. Reed Rabideau (CU), 6-0, 6-0
Records: UNC 18-4 (9-1 ACC), Clemson 9-10 (3-8 ACC)
Players Mentioned
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