University of North Carolina Athletics
From Fetzer to Finley: A Look at Issues Important to Carolina's Olympic Sports
April 10, 2000 | Men's Tennis
April 10, 2000
By Dave Lohse, Director of Media Relations for Olympic Sports
A year ago about this time someone said to Sam Paul, "You know, there are a lot of people out there who don't think you're the right man for this job."
I wonder where those folks are now.
The news about the men's tennis team at North Carolina has been buried behind the Tar Heels' run to the Final Four, the late season resurgence of the women's basketball squad, the excitement of spring football under a new offensive staff and a baseball team which started out the season 21-0. But as Atlantic Coast Conference championship competition for spring sports begins this weekend with the women's golf championship in Clemmons Friday through Saturday, it is Sam Paul's men's tennis, which is quietly making the most noise amongst Tar Heel teams.
What a difference a year makes. Paul took over as the Tar Heel head coach in the summer of 1993 after veteran head mentor Allen Morris left to take over administrative duties in the athletic department at his alma mater, Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. All Sam Paul did in his first five years was lead the Tar Heel tennis team to five straight NCAA Tournament bids, one first place ACC finish, two second place finishes and two third place finishes.
ut after the 1998 season, Paul knew his program was going to struggle for at least a year. Gone were three senior starters. Two other promising freshmen on the 1998 chose to transfer to other schools--Georgia and Southern Cal--and it's hard to argue with those moves. And Carolina's top returning player, Tripp Phillips, was forced to the sidelines for the entirety of the 1998-99 campaign with an excruciatingly painful shoulder injury.
And so the Tar Heels struggled in 1999. That was no big surprise. Senior Michael Grass, who had transferred to Carolina prior to his junior year from Jacksonville University, was moved up from #6 in the singles lineup in 1998 to #1 in 1999. He was forced into a leadership role for the team he wasn't prepared for. He did his best and had a solid senior year and always represented the Tar Heels well on the court. Paul then filled the rest of the lineup with a trio of transfers--Assaf Drori from New Mexico, Aron Breziner from Pepperdine and Chad Riley from TCU--sophomore David Cheatwood, who had seen spot action his freshman year, and freshman Bjorn Rencken from Durban, South Africa.
The final record was 11-14. The Heels finished fifth in the ACC with a 3-5 record. It was UNC's first losing season since 1986. But with the schedule the Tar Heels faced it was in reality a good year. Yeah, there was the losing record, but a season must be measured against both expectations and the reality of the talent available. While UNC may have been short on manpower, it was not short on hustle and determination. The 1999 team never gave up and was fighting to the bitter end trying to upset Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels eventually lost that match 4-3 and their season ended.
Grass graduated and Rencken, who was the 1999 ACC Rookie of the Year, turned pro. But Paul knew the Tar Heels would be better in the year 2000. The status of Phillips was touch and go all the way up to the spring season when for the first time in ages he was able to play without pain. Phillips has been 13-3 at #1 singles in dual-match play. His wins have included triumphs over the two players currently ranked #1 and #2 in the collegiate ranks--Daniel Andersson of Virginia Commonwealth and Shuon Madden of Texas A&M.
The rest of the lineup has fallen into place perfectly. Drori, an All-ACC selection in 1999, has been a more than solid #2 singles player his senior year. Cheatwood is playing #3 singles again and his improvement has been dramatic. The bottom of the lineup has included sophomore Marcio Petrone, a transfer from Florida International, at #4 singles, freshman Trystan Meniane from France at #5 and the steady Riley, playing #6 for the second straight year and thriving at that spot in the lineup. Freshmen Greg Archer and Tyne Brownlow have progressed as valuable doubles players and Archer has taken an occasional bow in the singles lineup as well.
The Tar Heels started the season at #51 in the national rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. In a Fetzer to Finley piece I wrote on February 11, 2000, I said that the ranking was fair but that by the end of the year it would be out of place. Slowly but surely this team gained confidence. The Tar Heels started the season 2-0 before losing to Texas, currently #13 nationally, 6-1. The day after the Texas loss the Tar Heels gutted out a 4-3 win over a Purdue team now ranked 39th. In that match the Tar Heels began the process of learning how to win close matches. On February 18, the Heels lost their second match of the season, 5-2, to a Texas A&M squad currently ranked eighth nationally. That was the team's last loss.
Since then the Heels have run off 11 successive wins and improved to 14-2 overall and 5-0 in the ACC. The team's ranking has moved up to #19, the best rating since 1996. During that 11-match winning streak, the #4, #5 and #6 singles players have combined for a 28-5 record against their opponents. And the Tar Heels have won a slew of close matches, beating South Carolina, Notre Dame, N.C. State and Virginia Commonwealth by 4-3 scores. The Gamecocks, Fighting Irish and Rams were all in the Top 25 when the Tar Heels beat them.
Carolina's 11-match winning streak has also catapulted this Tar Heel tennis team into rare air. It has been 22 years since Carolina won as many matches in a row.
Now comes the last week of the regular season for Carolina and it will not be easy. The match at Maryland this coming Sunday should be a win for the Tar Heels but before the team gets a shot at the Terps it must go through both #5 Duke and #46 Virginia on the road. Both teams have tormented the Tar Heel netters in recent years. Carolina last beat the Blue Devils on April 11, 1996 and the last win over the Cavaliers came on April 6, 1997. The task will be difficult and two losses will not ruin a season, which has been remarkable in its effort. It is nice to see that with that effort has come success.
That success could not come for a better bunch of guys than those on the UNC men's tennis team. And for their embattled coach Sam Paul this has been an especially sweet season. I certainly expect to see his name engraved on the 2000 ACC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year trophy in a few weeks.
Good luck this week Coach and thanks to you and the team for providing us with plenty of thrills this spring.
Players Mentioned
