North Carolina
NC State
Tar Heels Edge Wolfpack In Tight Rivalry Match 4-3
March 15, 2014 | Men's Tennis
The match was played before 209 fans at the Dail Outdoor Tennis Stadium as Carolina improved to 14-2 on the season and won its league opener. The 25th-ranked Wolfpack is now 11-4 and 0-2 in the ACC. UNC's win total for 2014 is already two more than it had last year when Carolina finished 12-13.
The match had multiple momentum swings but Carolina ended up pulling out the victory by recording four singles wins, including a pair of three-set triumphs off the rackets of Brayden Schnur and Oystein Steiro.
Carolina has now won a trio of recent matches against nationally-ranked teams after dropping the doubles point. Carolina beat TCU in that fashion last month and most recently downed seventh-ranked Texas in Chapel Hill last Monday 4-3
After freshmen Ronnie Schneider and Jack Murray clinched an 8-3 win at #3 doubles, the Wolfpack rallied to win at #1 and #2 doubles to take a 1-0 lead in the team score. Robbie Mudge and Ian Dempster prevailed 8-6 over Nelson Vick and Oystein Steiro at #1. The doubles point then came down to court 2 which needed a tiebreaker to decide the match. The 27th-ranked tandem of Nick Horton and Sean Weber defeated Brett Clark and Brayden Schnur 8-7 (7-3).
The Tar Heels put on their rally hats and got the four singles wins capped by Oystein Steiro's come-from-behind victory at the #5 spot.
Brett Clark started the rally with a 6-4, 6-4 win over NCSU's Thomas Wiegel at #3. Shortly thereafter, freshman Ronnie Schneider won at #2 singles over 98th-ranked Robbie Mudge 7-5, 6-3. The 32nd-ranked Schneider improved to 12-1 in dual matches this spring and 24-3 overall for the 2013-14 season.
NC State answered with a straight set win at #6 as Nick Horton downed Nelson Vick. But Carolina retook the lead at 3-2 with freshman Brayden Schnur winning over #41 Austin Powell 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Schnur, ranked 18th nationally, is 11-0 in dual matches this spring.
State tied the match at 3-3 when Sean Weber rebounded from dropping the first set to beat UNC's Jack Murray 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 at #4 singles.
All eyes then turned to court 5 where Steiro, a UNC junior, had lost the first set to Simon Norenius 7-4. But the Norwegian native persevered to win the second set 6-4 and then handily won the third set 6-1, serving an ace on his first match point.
Coach Sam Paul's Tar Heels will be back in action again Sunday at 1 p.m. when it plays host to 13th-ranked Wake Forest at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
Tennis Match Results
North Carolina vs NC State
Mar 14, 2014 at Raleigh, N.C.
(Dail Outdoor Tennis Stadium)
#11 North Carolina 4, #25 NC State 3
Singles competition
1. #18 Brayden Schnur d. #41 Austin Powell (NCSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
2. #32 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. #98 Robbie Mudge (NCSU) 7-5, 6-3
3. #51 Brett Clark (UNC) def. Thomas Weigel (NCSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Sean Weber (NCSU) def. Jack Murray (UNC) 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
5. Oystein Steiro (UNC) def. Simon Norenius (NCSU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
6. Nick Horton (NCSU) def. Nelson Vick (UNC) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Robbie Mudge/Ian Dempster (NCSU) def. Nelson Vick/Oystein Steiro (UNC) 8-6
2. #27 Nick Horton/Sean Weber (NCSU) def. Brett Clark/Brayden Schnur (UNC) 8-7 (7-3)
3. #67 Ronnie Schneider/Jack Murray (UNC) def. Austin Powell/Beck Bond (NCSU) 8-3
Match Notes:
North Carolina 14-2, 1-0 ACC; National ranking #11
NC State 11-4, 0-2 ACC; National ranking #25
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,2,6,1,4,5)
T-3:35 A-209
Players Mentioned
