University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Trio Earns ACC Honors
May 4, 2017 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Tar Heel William Blumberg has been named the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Tennis Freshman of the Year and is joined on the All-ACC team by senior Ronnie Schneider and junior Robert Kelly, the league announced on Thursday. Blumberg, from Greenwich, Conn., is the fifth UNC player to win the honor, the first since Brayden Schnur in 2014.
“I'm really happy for all three of them to have earned these honors in one of the toughest leagues in the country,” UNC coach Sam Paul said. “For Ronnie to earn All-ACC honors four times is an amazing accomplishment. Will has had an outstanding season and it's great to see him recognized for that. And Robert has been a tremendous player for us in singles and doubles.”
Schneider, from Bloomington, Ind., was named to the All-ACC first team for the fourth year in a row. All-America in singles as a junior, he is a fourth-year starter and team captain who is 20-5 this spring (10-4 in ACC dual matches) and has 118 career victories to his credit. He is currently ranked No. 21 in singles. He is the first Tar Heel to earn All-ACC honors in all four years of his career since David Caldwell (1993-96).
Kelly, from Chapel Hill, was named to the All-ACC second team after earning third-team honors as a sophomore. He was All-America in doubles last year and this spring is ranked No. 10 nationally in doubles with Blumberg and No. 106 in singles.
In earning the Freshman of the Year honor, Blumberg follows Paul Harsanyi (1994), Bjorn Rencken (1999), Chris Kearney (2007) and Schnur. He also was named first-team All-ACC, one of just two freshmen voted to the nine-member first team. Currently ranked No. 28 in singles, Blumberg is 21-2 in singles play this spring and finished ACC play undefeated at 11-0. He has nine wins over ranked opponents and more conference wins than any player in program history. In doubles, he is 17-6.
No. 12 UNC (24-4 overall) opens NCAA Tournament play on May 12 as the No. 9 seed in the 64-team field, hosting VCU at 1 p.m. for a first round match. It's the Tar Heels' 22nd tournament appearance in 24 seasons under Paul. Carolina is hosting NCAA action in Chapel Hill for the fourth year in a row, the fifth time in the past six years and the ninth time overall. ETSU and South Carolina will play in the other first-round game on Friday, with the winners meeting Saturday at 3 p.m. for a spot in the Sweet 16.
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2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Tennis Honors
Players Mentioned
