University of North Carolina Athletics
CAROLINA: Tar Heels Keep Rolling
March 10, 2016 | Men's Tennis
By Turner Walston
The Carolina men's tennis team has played five matches in the three weeks since capturing the program's first ITA National Championship on February 15, and the Tar Heels have swept each of those matches by a 7-0 score. The team rightly celebrated that national championship, but quickly went back to the work of building toward ACC and NCAA play. Despite a title to their names already and the school's first-ever #1 ranking, the Tar Heels remain focused on the future.
“The first few days (after ITAs) were tough,” junior Brayden Schnur said. “Everyone was a little bit happy and very satisfied, but I think our coaches gave us the right message by being able to keep us hungry and wanting more, and we're all pumped again. We're back down on Earth; we're not in the sky anymore, and we're just really excited to start ACC play now.”
Amid that workmanlike stretch of five 7-0 non-conference matches, the Tar Heels took down Campbell on February 29. That match marked the 400th career win for head coach Sam Paul. Paul laughed when asked about the milestone and credited associate head coach Tripp Phillips. “He's a huge, huge part of that,” Paul said. “He's one of the best coaches in the country. I'm lucky to have him. He's a big part of it, and obviously we've got a great university that can attract some really good athletes, but it's not about me. It's always about these kids getting an education and working to get better. I've been fortunate to be here.”
Last Friday, the Tar Heels finished non-conference play with a 7-0 sweep of #54 Vanderbilt. Carolina the doubles point but dropped three first sets in singles play. Robert Kelly defeated the Commodores' Ben Binet in two sets, but each of the other matches went the distance. Brett Clark's win on court three put the Tar Heels up 3-0, and Schnur's win on court one sealed the win. Ronnie Schneider, Blaine Boyden and Jack Murray then finished the sweep on two, six and four, respectively.
“Vanderbilt is an underrated team right now,” Schnur said. “They're a very good tennis program, and it means a lot having them come in our house on a Friday to play us, and we come out 7-0. It's a great feeling.”
Carolina returns five starters from the team that reached the NCAA quarterfinals a year ago. That experience, combined with a confidence gained from playing well in the early spring and fall, has the Tar Heels atop the rankings. “Tennis is a game of confidence, and it doesn't matter whether you're better than your opponent or your opponent is better than you, if you're walking on court confident, that's going to carry you a long way in matches,” Schnur said. “We had a heartbreaking loss to TCU in the NCAA Tournament, where people on paper thought we were going to win that one, but TCU was paying some very good tennis. They beat us, and we used that as motivation, and everyone just kept getting better and better through the fall.”
“We have a lot of experience, and the confidence of knowing that we've been there,” Paul said. “We've been in really tough situations, so we've got to keep using that to push ourselves forward.”
And even with an undefeated record, both Schnur and Schneider say that the team is not scared to lose. Playing with that mindset has given them the freedom to play their best tennis. “I remember thinking to myself when we went into the third set tiebreaker against Virginia, playing in the finals there, I was like, win or lose, you've got to go down swinging, and so I kind of kept that mentality. I know I need to keep that mentality as I move through the season. I can live with whatever happens as long as I go down swinging.”
The Tar Heels begin the conference slate with a trip to Tallahassee to take on 47th-ranked Florida State on Friday. A daunting ACC awaits, but with the confidence from the ITA championship and an experienced core, the Tar Heels are up to the challenge. “I think winning that national championship gave us a clear picture of what we can do,” Schneider said. “Everybody just wants to keep focused and keep moving forward because we have three more titles to compete for: ACC regular season, ACC tournament and then NCAA tournament, and we really want all of those.”
And while the team is happy to claim that #1 ranking in February and March, they know that there's a long way to go. “The end goal is to be #1 June 1st,” Schneider said, “so that means winning NCAAs.”
Players Mentioned
