University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Duo Falls In Quarterfinals
May 28, 2017 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – The NCAA Tournament came to an end Saturday for UNC's top doubles team. Junior Robert Kelly and freshman William Blumberg fell to Wake Forest's Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim in a hard-fought quarterfinals match at Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
By reaching the quarterfinals, the two earned All-America honors. Kelly earned the recognition for the second year in a row. Blumberg earned it for the second time this year, after also qualifying by making it past the Round of 16 in singles.
Saturday's match was the third meeting of the year for the top teams from UNC and Wake Forest, and the Demon Deacons had taken the first two. They claimed the first set, winning 7-6 in a tiebreaker. The Tar Heels took the second 6-3 to force a 10-point tiebreaker that lasted quite a bit longer than that. The teams battled past 10 before Mansouri and Seraphim finally pulled ahead to win it 13-11.
Blumberg and Kelly went 23-8 playing together this spring. The two were named to the All-NCAA Tournament team in the top spot for doubles following the Tar Heels' run to the championship match.
Blumberg continues play in the singles bracket with a semifinals match on Sunday.
Players Mentioned
