University of North Carolina Athletics
2006 North Carolina Men's Tennis Review
January 5, 2007 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 5, 2007
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Chalk up another victory for the even-numbered year.
2006 proved no exception to the pattern the Tar Heel men's tennis program has established under head coach Sam Paul since his coaching debut in the sky blue in 1994. Odd-numbered years have tended to produce good UNC teams, squads of NCAA quality in all years save 1999. Even-numbered years feature the teams that really shine, the record-breaking, championship-calibre units led by players who go on to win national awards.
So while UNC entered the 2005-06 season with a No. 31 ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, it almost came as no surprise that the Tar Heels would rally and end up as the nation's 12th-ranked squad at season's end. It was almost the mirror image of the season the North Carolina senior class had encountered as sophomores in 2004 when a Tar Heel team ranked No. 50 in the preseason surged to a 23-5 record and a 17th place ITA ranking.
Led by a quartet of four outstanding seniors, including two players who had transferred to Carolina, the Tar Heels finished 25-5 overall and 8-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The 25 wins tied the school record for dual match victories in a season, equaling the 1992 team's 25-5 mark. The record was all the more outstanding given the strength of the ACC in 2006, with the top five teams in the league separated by only one match in the standings. Duke, Virginia and Miami all finished 9-2 while North Carolina and Florida State were 8-3. Even Clemson at 5-6 in the ACC was ranked 24th heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Nine league teams earned ACC invitations and four teams hosted regionals. No. 5 Duke, No. 7 Virginia, No. 9 Miami and No. 11 North Carolina all made the NCAA Round of 16 and Virginia defeated Miami in that round to reach the final eight. Florida State at No. 19, Clemson at No. 24m Wake Forest at No. 28, Georgia Tecg at No. 30 and NC State at No. 42 also made the NCAA field.
Carolina led the ACC in total wins with 25 and in winning percentage at .833. For the second time in three years the Tar Heels were selected to host a regional tournament at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. But while the 2004 regional saw the Tar Heels drop a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to Ohio State in the regional final, UNC fared better in 2006.
The Tar Heels hosted a field which included South Carolina State, Clemson and South Carolina. On the opening day of the tournament UNC blanked S.C. State 4-0 while Clemson made quick work of South Carolina 4-1 even after the Gamecocks had won the doubles point. The following day the Tar Heels survived a tense doubles point to go up 1-0 by rallying from 6-3 down at No. 3 to win the match in a tiebreaker 7-5. In singles, Derek Porter, Benjamin Carlotti and Sebastian Guejman won at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 to give the Tar Heels the 4-1 win over the No. 24 Tigers and earn a spot in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993.
The 2006 campaign was a season filled with heroes and characterized by a balanced lineup that produced victory and victory and a tremendous ability to gut out close victories. UNC had a 13-5 record in matches where the winning team had four or five points.
The Tar Heels did not lose a match to a non-conference team until the Sweet 16 match of the NCAA Tournament. Carolina opened the season by winning its first 15 matches, all outside of the league, between January 21 and March 15. The 15 wins at the beginning of the season marked Carolina's best start since the 1970 team finished its docket undefeated at 18-0. Included in the winning streak were victories over Northwestern and Notre Dame, two of the best teams from the Midwest, as well as No. 12 South Carolina and No. 20 VCU. Carolina also scored West Coast wins over No. 23 San Diego and SanDiego State.
After the trip to California over spring break, the Heels returned home to meet Wake Forest at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center where they lost to the Demon Deacons 4-3, Wake's first win in Chapel Hill since 1988. Carolina did not dwell on the loss to Wake as the Tar Heels bounced back to beat No. 10 Clemson 4-3 four days later and followed that up with 5-2 wins over Georgia Tech and Florida State. Carolina lost on the road for the first time April 2 with a 4-1 loss at No. 13 Miami.
Three straight wins followed before a week of three 4-3 thrillers -- a loss at No. 6 Duke April 12, a win over No. 11 Virginia April 14 and a win over Virginia Tech April 16. In rallying to beat the Cavaliers, the Tar Heels handed the 2004 and 2005 ACC champion Wahoos only their second ACC loss in their last 27 matches.
A week later, UNC would be upset 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament by Florida State, an NCAA Final 8 team from 2005. The Tar Heels had beaten the Seminoles 5-2 in the regular season in Tallahassee. Carolina recovered from its ACC Tournament loss to win the regional title, beating Clemson for the second time in the season and earning the right to go to Stanford for the final 16.
Although the Heels were bounced from the tournament rather unceremoniously by Ohio State 4-0, there was still much to celebrate on the season.
UNC's balance was one of its greatest strengths as six players posted 20 or more singles win on the campaign.
