University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Still Together
April 11, 2020 | Men's Tennis, Featured Writers
Don't worry, Ladd Harrison has his priorities in order. He always has, his teammates will eagerly tell you, which is why they respected him enough to vote him a 2020 team co-captain even though many of his contributions to the team to that point had come behind the scenes and in practice.
So Harrison knows that in a world rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, the cancellation of a tennis season pales in comparison to matters of life and death. Still, on this weekend in particular Harrison and his teammates admit they miss what would've been one of the most memorable weekends of their lives to this point.
"It has definitely been a crazy time, but to be honest the craziness of everything going on in the world hasn't really let the end of our tennis season really settle in yet," Harrison says. "It started to hit me a lot more with senior day coming up, and I wish more than anything that not only Simon, Josh, Will and I could be together, but that the whole team could be together."
Saturday would have been UNC's match at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center against Louisville and senior day for the Tar Heels, the final regular season home appearances for a decorated group that includes Harrison, William Blumberg, Josh Peck and Simon Soendergaard.
But instead of gathering together this weekend with their teammates, families and friends on a beautiful, sunny day where they've celebrated so many victories and toiled for so many early-morning practices and workouts, the quartet has scattered away from Chapel Hill like the rest of the campus community.
"I think it's really weird our season ended in the middle of the year, even though we all understand why," Blumberg says. "At the same time, for the last couple of months every time I drove up to the tennis center, I tried to imagine what senior day would be like. I was always looking forward to it as a way to give back to our families and celebrate the last four years. The hardest part is missing the camaraderie with the team, the coaches, everyone that works with our team. That's what senior day is about, to celebrate and say thank you, because it's been an honor to compete for Carolina."
"I know this day would've been about the seniors, but my hope is that it would have been a celebration for our entire team and the coaches," Harrison agrees. "There is not a team closer in the entire country than our team, and that is what I love most. The wins are great, but what matters most are the memories and bonds we'll leave Carolina with. The memories our senior class built are going to be with us for the rest of our lives, and that is something we will all be able to hold close."
The 2020 senior class more than memories to take forward with them. This group has led Carolina to a record of 87-19 in the last four years, and its win total might've pushed toward triple digits had the season not ended prematurely. It led UNC to wins over the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and qualified for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in each of its four seasons.
This quartet helped take the Tar Heels to the program's first NCAA Tournament final four as freshmen in 2017, then did it again last year. They were poised for another potentially deep tournament run in 2020 with a No. 2 national ranking and a 12-1 record when the season ended in March.
On what might be the best team in the rich history of Carolina tennis, many of the team's best memories were still to come.
"This is just such a special phenomenal group of guys in every way," Tar Heel head coach Sam Paul says. "They've taken us to new heights as a program, but just as important is how they've represented Carolina with class and commitment and achieved in the classroom. We as a program have grown through these guys. The unselfish commitment of their parents helped lead to their sons' success and contributed so much to the culture of this program. We can't thank these four players or their families enough for all we've learned and gained through them."
Even with plenty of questions still to be answered in the coming days and weeks regarding their futures, the four seniors have stuck together despite the physical distance between them.
"We talk every day with our group chat or on Facetime, just laughing and seeing how everyone is doing," Blumberg says. "We're hoping we can get back together soon, but for now we're talking about our golf games or whatever we're doing that day. We talk all the time. That's part of the family we have at Carolina."
"What's getting me through this is that Carolina Tennis is a family," Harrison says. "Joe Frierson told me that when I was going through recruiting, but I didn't really understand it until my junior year. When your time playing tennis is over, you are not finished with Carolina Tennis. The relationships and bonds you build are something you carry with you for the rest of your life. And what is helping me the most is that I know the end of our season is not the end of my memories with Coach [Paul], Tripp [Phillips], Simon, Josh, and Will. It is just the beginning of a long journey of more memories with each other that we have in front of us."
"I want to thank Coach and Tripp," Harrison continues. "Without them, our senior class would be nothing. They are the glue that keeps all of us together, and I can speak for everyone that we have the greatest coaches in the country. With a lot of our futures up in the air right now, I know whoever is on the team next year is going to be the most prepared to get ready to tackle the season having Coach Paul leading this team."
Always quick to deflect attention from himself, Paul returns the spotlight to his players.
"These guys have led Carolina to the best four-year period in Carolina tennis history," he says, "and we'll miss them for so many reasons beyond their success on the court."
Quotable
Sam Paul on Ladd Harrison:
"Ladd takes his academics extremely seriously, but no matter how late he might've been up the night before studying, he was always one of the first onto the practice court to work out each day at 8:00 a.m. People like Ladd are the reason coaches get into coaching. His unselfish leadership, character and work ethic on and off the court make him one of the finest student-athletes I've had the privilege to work with in my 30-plus years at UNC."
Sam Paul on William Blumberg:
"William is one of the greatest ever to play at Carolina, if not the greatest. To be a six-time All-America between singles & doubles entering his senior year is just incredible, and he would've had a great chance to add to that total this spring. He grew a lot as a player here due to his work ethic and unselfishness. He has had and continues to have professional aspirations, but he came back to school because he wanted to win a team championship. He's put us in a position to do that every year he's been here. Even more than his talents on the court, I couldn't be more impressed with the quality of his character. You can see it in the way he represents UNC, Carolina Athletics and himself and in the way he treats people. It's an honor to work with him. Whenever he decides to take his game to the next level, we're all looking forward to watching him succeed as a pro."
Sam Paul on Josh Peck:
"Josh is a very good student and so committed to improving as a player. He has worked hard competing in summer tournaments and every opportunity he has to develop and improve his game. He's built himself into one of the best players in the nation, and I have nothing but respect for his work ethic in all areas. He won at #3 singles for us at USC last year to help us be the first team ever to beat them on their home court in the NCAA Tournament. He was a key part of a huge moment for our program."
Sam Paul on Simon Soendergaard:
"Simon has such an infectious and warm personality that strikes you right away. He's been so valuable to our program on the court from day one and as a teammate and leader. He clinched the doubles point for us as a freshman in our win at Georgia in the NCAA Tournament. He's been such a tremendous doubles player over his career, all the way to being ranked third in the nation this year with Mac Kiger. He takes his academics very seriously, and combined with his super warm personality, you just know he's going to do well in life no matter what he does."
Quite a season for Simon Soendergaard.
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) March 31, 2020
🔹10-4 in singles
🔹 20-3 & reached No. 3 in the nation in doubles with Mac Kiger
🐏🎾 | #TogetherWeWin #GoHeels pic.twitter.com/3RMjMWJSVF
In honor of National Student-Athlete Day, a shoutout to our AD Scholar-Athlete Award winner, Ladd Harrison! https://t.co/FAAaR52KdI
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) April 6, 2020
🐏🎾 | #TogetherWeWin pic.twitter.com/2rCWDDh7YW
After the cancellation of the 2020 season, we are celebrating members of one of the best teams in program history.
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) April 8, 2020
First up is @willblumberg.https://t.co/8GfBQJvnA6#TogetherWeWin | 🐏🎾 pic.twitter.com/ljUo5FaeVl
Another terrific Tar Heel senior on what would have been Senior Day weekend — Josh Peck!#TogetherWeWin | 🎾🐏 pic.twitter.com/PuR9wd4q9v
— UNC Men's Tennis (@carolinatennis) April 9, 2020
Players Mentioned
