University of North Carolina Athletics
THB Up Close: Catching Up With David Cheatwood
October 16, 2001 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 12, 2001
By Bill Freehling
UNC Athletic Communications
As a four-year letter winner and two-time ACC singles champion at Carolina, David Cheatwood left no doubt that he could thrive on the tennis courts. Now, he is preparing himself for success in a different kind of court.
Cheatwood, who graduated from UNC last spring with a degree in business, is now a first-year law student at Carolina. He said the first six weeks have already proven to him that all the talk about the difficulties of law school's first year is no exaggeration.
"I don't think any undergraduate major would prepare you for the workload," he said. "It's such a big transition from undergraduate work. Law is so comprehensive. There's so much out there. It's hard to take it all in."
He said he is starting to enjoy himself, however. "It's going well. It just took a little getting used to."
His previous record in the classroom suggests that he will do just fine in law school. At Terry Sanford High School, in Fayetteville, N.C., he finished fifth in a class of 300 and was named an Honor Society member. At Carolina, his scholastic achievements three times earned him a position on the ACC Academic Honor Roll. In 2001, during his senior year, he won the UNC Scholar-Athlete Award for tennis.
Sam Paul, the men's tennis coach, said academics were always Cheatwood's first priority, which will ensure him continued success.
"He came to UNC because academics were important to him," Paul said. "David can do anything he wants to do because he's very focused and goal-oriented. He'll do great."
Cheatwood's academic record at UNC was good enough to gain him admission into both law schools to which he applied. He was accepted at Wake Forest and faced a difficult choice about which school to enter.
The fact that Cheatwood's father, Phil, had gone to Wake Forest for both undergraduate and law school didn't make the choice any easier. Cheatwood's mother, Susan, also attended Wake Forest. Phil Cheatwood played quarterback, and his future wife was a cheerleader for the Demon Deacons.
Although Cheatwood's parents put no pressure on him to attend their alma mater, he said their ties to the school were one of the big reasons he applied.
Ultimately, however, Cheatwood said Carolina just felt right. He had many friends returning to UNC this year, was impressed by the law school's facility and professors, and had a strong affinity for Carolina's hometown.
"I already knew I loved Chapel Hill," he said. "I felt more of a comfort zone here."
Coach Paul said having Cheatwood, who still has a close relationship with many of Carolina's tennis players, in Chapel Hill has already benefited the current team. "He helps the young guys know they're part of a tradition that is bigger than just themselves."
Cheatwood said he is starting to get back into tennis after taking the summer off. During that time, he traveled to Costa Rica and the Virgin Islands with his girlfriend, Julia Hamner, an undergraduate classmate's of Cheatwood who now works in Raleigh.
"At first, I was ready for the break," he said. "Now that a few months have passed, I'm looking to get back into it - purely for fun though."
He recently practiced with the team and said he was surprised by how well he did after a long layoff. "I was expecting to be much worse than I was," he said.
Anybody familiar with his record at Carolina would not have been surprised, however. He won the ACC Flight #3 singles championship in his junior and senior years. He notched 113 victories in singles and doubles combined over his four years. His successes and leadership also earned him a spot as co-captain with Chad Riley during his senior year.
Carolina prospered during his tenure as well. The team finished second or tied for second in the ACC three of his four years. During his junior year, the team cracked the national top 20 list and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. In his final year, Carolina made it to the NCAA championships before being eliminated by Arkansas.
Although he said he has few regrets from his college career - one of which is his team never defeated Duke - and is beginning to settle into law school, he said he does miss his days on the courts with which he has always been most familiar.
"I miss the competitive aspect," he said. "But I'll miss it more once the spring season rolls around."
Bill Freehling is a second-year master's student in Carolina's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He lives in Durham.
Players Mentioned
