University of North Carolina Athletics
Fourth-Seeded Carolina Set For ACC Tournament
April 22, 2015 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The fourth-seeded North Carolina men's tennis team (19-9, 8-4 ACC) will face 13th-seeded Boston College (8-17, 0-12 ACC) in the first round of the ACC Men's Tennis Championships on Thursday at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, North Carolina. First serve is set for noon, and the victor will move on to face either No. 5 seed Duke or No. 12 seed Miami in a quarterfinal contest on Friday.
The Tar Heels, ranked 16th nationally, have been particularly impressive of late, notching wins in five of their last six matches to close out the regular season. UNC downed Georgia Tech and Clemson this past weekend in a road trip down south. Part of Carolina's success of late can be attributed to doubles play, which has been solid even without injured senior Oystein Steiro. The Heels' 39th-ranked pair of junior Brett Clark and sophomore Robert Kelly went a perfect 9-0 in ACC play, and senior Esben Hess-Olesen has formed a formidable duo with sophomore Brayden Schnur at the top doubles spot. At the No. 3 spot, sophomores Jack Murray and Ronnie Schneider hold a 9-1 dual-match mark.
“I think we've had really balanced doubles play,” said UNC head coach Sam Paul. “We have three very, very good doubles teams. Esben and Brayden are playing No. 1 for us, and that's a very capable team. Then obviously Robert and Brett are having a really good season. And Ronnie and Jack – you're looking at a team that made the All-NCAA Tournament Team…We will be really competitive at all the spots.”
Boston College enters Thursday's match coming off a tough weekend that saw them drop matches to NC State and Wake Forest. Philip Nelson, who competes at the No. 1 singles spot, paces the Eagles. Carolina swept Boston College 7-0 at home on April 3.
Rankings Update
Four Tar Heels appear in the ITA's latest singles poll: Schnur (No. 12), Schneider (No. 23), Clark (No. 68) and Murray (No. 117). In the latest doubles poll, Hess-Olesen and Steiro check in at No. 36, while Clark and Kelly slid up one spot to No. 39.
Heels' Tourney History
Carolina has won a league-best 25 ACC Championships, including a string of nine in a row from 1970-1978 under the guidance of coach Don Skakle. The Tar Heels' last ACC Championship came in 2002. In 2014, Carolina advanced to the championship match by ousting local rivals NC State and Duke in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, but fell to Virginia in the final match.
Tough Competition
This weekend's ACC Tournament will highlight some of the best teams in the nation. Seven ACC teams ranked in the nation's top-15, and 11 of the 13 teams in the conference appear in the ITA's rankings.
“We have a very tough league,” said Coach Paul. “This is probably the toughest the league has ever been that I can recall.”
Viewing Guide
The 2015 ACC Men's Tennis Championships set to start at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning and will conclude on Sunday, April 26 at 10 a.m. with the championship match.
Single-day passes for the event are $8 for adults and $6 for children age 9 and over. College students of ACC schools with a valid ID can view the matches free of charge. Full event packages are also available.
A live video stream will be available on ESPN3 for the Saturday men's semifinal that has the highest remaining seed and Sunday's championship match, with Shawn Kenney handling play-by-play and Brian Clark adding analysis.
Players Mentioned
