University of North Carolina Athletics
Sunday, May 13
Chapel Hill
10:00 AM
North Carolina
4
vs
0
Tennessee (NCAA 2nd Round)
Senior In the Spotlight As UNC Moves On To Sweet 16
May 13, 2018 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It seemed only fitting that on UNC's commencement day, Carolina's only men's tennis senior provided the pivotal victory to clinch a 4-0 win over No. 20 Tennessee and send the Tar Heels on to the NCAA Round of 16. Playing at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center for the final time, Robert Kelly served for match point up 5-4 after winning his first set 6-4 on Court 4. When Scott Jones' return went just wide, Kelly pumped his fist and calmly walked to the net, knowing his team was moving on.
"It's a crazy feeling, my last match at Cone-Kenfield," he said. "The last point I'll ever play here."
Kelly has had a stellar career for the Tar Heels, including All-America honors the last two seasons, and it isn't over yet. For the fifth year in a row, UNC will play in the NCAA Sweet 16, held this year in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Tar Heels will take on either USC or Harvard on Friday at 9 a.m. For tickets, click here.
Sixth-ranked and seventh-seeded UNC (24-5) advanced to Sunday's second-round match with a 4-0 win over Campbell Saturday, when Tennessee beat UNCW by the same score. The UNC-UT match was moved up four hours to 10 a.m. to try to avoid the afternoon's worst heat, which meant it started right in the middle of the Kenan Stadium commencement ceremony, a few miles away on campus.
Meanwhile, Kelly, a global studies major from Chapel Hill, took the court with his teammates for doubles and quickly made an impact from his spot on Court 1. With the Tar Heels down a match after falling on Court 3, Kelly and sophomore William Blumberg, ranked second nationally, won a top-10 battle to beat Tennessee's Luis Valero and Preston Touliatos, ranked seventh, 6-2. That put all eyes on the middle court, where the scored was at that point tied 4-4. With the Tar Heel crowd behind them, junior Blaine Boyden and freshman Benjamin Sigouin pulled out the 6-4 win to give UNC the first point and the momentum going into singles.
"The doubles point was key," UNC coach Sam Paul said.
In singles, Boyden was the first to wrap up, winning his second set 6-1 and shouting, "Let's go, Heels!" as he whipped off his hat and headed for the net to shake his opponent's hand.
Blumberg was next, serving for the match as both Kelly and Sigouin (Court 2) were closing in on two-set wins. He beat No. 16 Timo Stodder 6-2, 6-4 to improve to 20-4 in singles this spring with 16 of those wins coming over ranked players.
That put both Kelly and Sigouin in positions to clinch, and it was the senior who got there. Serving up 40-love, he knew he could provide the final point, but was much more interest in the team win, and in cooling off.
"(Clinching) wasn't the most important thing to me," he said afterward. "I knew if Ben clinched I'd wouldn't have to play anymore. I was just trying to get off the court because it was so hot. But it as really special to clinch."
Paul, standing on the adjacent court as Kelly wrapped up, was thrilled to see his senior finish the match off, both for Kelly's sake and for the team's. "He played one of the best matches he's played in a while," Paul said. "I'm so happy for him to finish out here, and happy for all of our guys. We played pretty well in singles up and down the line. We're happy to be moving forward."
The Tar Heels, NCAA runners-up last season, are in the tournament for the 23rd time in Paul's 25 years.
No. 6 UNC 4, No. 20 Tennessee 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (3,1,2)
1. #2 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC) d. #7 Valero/Touliatos (UT), 6-2
2. Boyden/Sigouin (UNC) d. Stodder/Walton (UT), 6-4
3. Rogers/Jones (UT) d. Kiger/Soengergaard (UNC), 6-1
Singles
Order of match finish: (5,1,4)
1. #3 William Blumberg (UNC) d. #16 Timo Stodder (UT), 6-2, 6-4
2. #32 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) vs. Luis Valero (UT), 6-2, 5-3 UF
3. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) vs. Adam Walton (UT), 5-7, 2-3 UF
4. Robert Kelly (UNC) d. Scott Jones (UT), 6-4, 6-4
5. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Preston Touliatos (UT), 6-2, 6-1
6. Mac Kiger (UNC) vs. Luca Wiedenmann (UT), 3-6, 2-4 UF
Records: UNC 24-5, Tennessee 21-9
"It's a crazy feeling, my last match at Cone-Kenfield," he said. "The last point I'll ever play here."
Kelly has had a stellar career for the Tar Heels, including All-America honors the last two seasons, and it isn't over yet. For the fifth year in a row, UNC will play in the NCAA Sweet 16, held this year in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Tar Heels will take on either USC or Harvard on Friday at 9 a.m. For tickets, click here.
Sweet 1??6?? here we come!
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) May 13, 2018
??Highlights from 4-0 win vs UT??#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/6LvsRs7B90
Sixth-ranked and seventh-seeded UNC (24-5) advanced to Sunday's second-round match with a 4-0 win over Campbell Saturday, when Tennessee beat UNCW by the same score. The UNC-UT match was moved up four hours to 10 a.m. to try to avoid the afternoon's worst heat, which meant it started right in the middle of the Kenan Stadium commencement ceremony, a few miles away on campus.
Meanwhile, Kelly, a global studies major from Chapel Hill, took the court with his teammates for doubles and quickly made an impact from his spot on Court 1. With the Tar Heels down a match after falling on Court 3, Kelly and sophomore William Blumberg, ranked second nationally, won a top-10 battle to beat Tennessee's Luis Valero and Preston Touliatos, ranked seventh, 6-2. That put all eyes on the middle court, where the scored was at that point tied 4-4. With the Tar Heel crowd behind them, junior Blaine Boyden and freshman Benjamin Sigouin pulled out the 6-4 win to give UNC the first point and the momentum going into singles.
"The doubles point was key," UNC coach Sam Paul said.
UNC 1 UT 0 pic.twitter.com/UonrSRnPdh
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) May 13, 2018
In singles, Boyden was the first to wrap up, winning his second set 6-1 and shouting, "Let's go, Heels!" as he whipped off his hat and headed for the net to shake his opponent's hand.
Blumberg was next, serving for the match as both Kelly and Sigouin (Court 2) were closing in on two-set wins. He beat No. 16 Timo Stodder 6-2, 6-4 to improve to 20-4 in singles this spring with 16 of those wins coming over ranked players.
That put both Kelly and Sigouin in positions to clinch, and it was the senior who got there. Serving up 40-love, he knew he could provide the final point, but was much more interest in the team win, and in cooling off.
"(Clinching) wasn't the most important thing to me," he said afterward. "I knew if Ben clinched I'd wouldn't have to play anymore. I was just trying to get off the court because it was so hot. But it as really special to clinch."
Final UNC 4 Tennessee 0 R Kelly clinches 6-4, 6-4 pic.twitter.com/aqcBZYOchw
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) May 13, 2018
Paul, standing on the adjacent court as Kelly wrapped up, was thrilled to see his senior finish the match off, both for Kelly's sake and for the team's. "He played one of the best matches he's played in a while," Paul said. "I'm so happy for him to finish out here, and happy for all of our guys. We played pretty well in singles up and down the line. We're happy to be moving forward."
The Tar Heels, NCAA runners-up last season, are in the tournament for the 23rd time in Paul's 25 years.
No. 6 UNC 4, No. 20 Tennessee 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (3,1,2)
1. #2 Blumberg/Kelly (UNC) d. #7 Valero/Touliatos (UT), 6-2
2. Boyden/Sigouin (UNC) d. Stodder/Walton (UT), 6-4
3. Rogers/Jones (UT) d. Kiger/Soengergaard (UNC), 6-1
Singles
Order of match finish: (5,1,4)
1. #3 William Blumberg (UNC) d. #16 Timo Stodder (UT), 6-2, 6-4
2. #32 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) vs. Luis Valero (UT), 6-2, 5-3 UF
3. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) vs. Adam Walton (UT), 5-7, 2-3 UF
4. Robert Kelly (UNC) d. Scott Jones (UT), 6-4, 6-4
5. Blaine Boyden (UNC) d. Preston Touliatos (UT), 6-2, 6-1
6. Mac Kiger (UNC) vs. Luca Wiedenmann (UT), 3-6, 2-4 UF
Records: UNC 24-5, Tennessee 21-9
Players Mentioned
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