University of North Carolina Athletics
Murray And Schnur Reach Quarters, Earn All-America Honors
May 27, 2016 | Men's Tennis
UNC men's tennis doubles team Jack Murray and Brayden Schnur won Friday to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament doubles bracket, beating Ohio State's Herkko Pollanen and Mikael Torpegaard 6-4, 6-2. By earning a spot among the final eight teams in the bracket, the Tar Heel juniors earned All-America honors for the season.
Murray/Schnur are All-Americans 6-4, 6-2 over Ohio St. Advancing to NCAA QF's! pic.twitter.com/nA3XYhzCr0
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) May 27, 2016
For Schnur, who is from Pickering, Ontario, it's the third All-America recognition of his career, following singles honors in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He becomes just the third player in UNC program history, and the first in more than four decades, to earn All-America honors in three years.
For Murray, from Beverly Hills, Mich., it's the first All-America honor of his career.
The two are ranked No. 27 nationally and were initially alternates to the 32-team doubles tournament. But since gaining entry to the tournament, they've made their presence felt with wins over two higher-ranked teams. In the first round on Thursday, they beat 14th-ranked Zvonimir Babic and Filip Kraljevic of Ole Miss. Friday's Ohio State team was ranked No. 22.
“I thought we played really well today,” Murray said. “Brayden is great player who makes my life easier when he hits great shots, and I only have to do a little bit. We got the result we wanted today with our play and execution.”
Murray and Schnur are the first UNC team to reach the doubles quarterfinals since 2010, when Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy went as far as the semifinals. They'll play on Saturday at noon Central against David Biosca and Rogerio Ribeiro of East Tennessee State, who upset top-ranked Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson of Florida on Friday.
“We are just trying to stay focused, because we know we can do well,” Schnur said. “I think the key for us is focusing on our game and executing.”
In singles play on Friday, the last Tar Heel fell from the bracket. Junior Ronnie Schneider, who cemented his own All-America status when he reached the Round of 16 with Thursday's win, lost 6-4, 6-1 to Aleks Vukic of Illinois.
