University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
East Carolina
Tar Heels Blank ECU In Men's Tennis Opener
January 17, 2014 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina Tar Heels opened the 2014 men's tennis dual match season by beating East Carolina 7-0 at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Coach Sam Paul's 43rd-ranked Tar Heels played a youth-laden lineup with three freshmen, two sophomores and one junior in the singles lineup.
The match was the season opener for both teams and was played under the new experimental NCAA rules for non-conference matches. The new rules feature no-ad scoring, tiebreakers played at 5-5 in singles sets and doubles matches played to just six points (previously eight).
UNC's top two doubles teams posted decisive 6-2 wins to give the Heels a quick 1-0 lead. The Tar Heels then went on to win five straight singles matches in straight sets. Brett Clark was the first off the court, beating Mario Martinez 6-1, 6-2 at #3 singles. Freshman Brayden Schnur defeated #23 Jorge Vliegen 6-3, 6-0 at #1 singles and Oystein Steiro clinched the team win for Carolina at #4 with a 6-0, 6-5 (7-5) victory over Damien Brenard.
UNC freshman Ronnie Schneider followed with another straight set win, bageling Nicolas Soriano in the second set of a 6-3, 6-0 decision. Sophomore Stuart DePaolo ground out a solid win at #6 singles over Colin Roller 6-4, 6-3.
The highest drama of the match came at #5 singles where Jack Murray of the Tar Heels won the first set 6-4 before dropping the second 5-6 (4-7). Murray and the Pirates' Fredric Lehfeldt played a 10-point tiebreaker for the third with Murray claiming the last three points for an 11-9 victory. Murray was down 2-0, rallied to go up 7-3, fell behind 9-8 and then claimed the victory in the first dual match of his career.
The Tar Heels will complete their opening-day doubleheader when they play Wofford at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
#43 North Carolina 7, East Carolina 0
Doubles (Team Winning Majority Of Matches Earns One Team Point)
Order of match finish: (2,1,3)
1. Brett Clark and Brayden Schnur (UNC) d. Jorge Vliegen and Colin Roller (ECU), 6-2
2. Ronnie Schneider and Jack Murray (UNC) d. Damien Brenard and Frederic Lehfeldt (ECU), 6-2
3. Nicolas Soriano and Patriek Wolterbeek (ECU) d. Oystein Steiro and James Coxe (UNC), 6-4
Singles (One Team Point Per Singles Match)
Order of match finish: (3,1,4,2,6,5)
1. Brayden Schnur (UNC) d. #23 Jorge Vliegen (ECU), 6-3, 6-0
2. #17 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) d. Nicolas Soriano (ECU), 6-3, 6-0
3. #36 Brett Clark (UNC) d. Mario Martinez (UNC), 6-1, 6-2
4. Oystein Steiro (UNC) vs. Damien Brenard (ECU), 6-0, 6-5 (7-5)
5. Jack Murray (UNC) vs. Fredric Lehfeldt (ECU), 6-4, 5-6 (4-7), 1-0 (11-9)
6. Stuart DePaolo (UNC) vs. Colin Roller (ECU), 6-4, 6-3
Records: North Carolina (1-0), East Carolina (0-1)
Players Mentioned
