Three Seniors Return As Men's Tennis Releases 2020-21 Roster

CHAPEL HILL—The return of three seniors whose 2019-20 seasons were cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the 2020-21 University of North Carolina men's tennis roster, released on Tuesday by head coach Sam Paul.

The 2019-20 squad was one of the best in Paul's 27 years as the UNC head coach, as the Tar Heels were 12-1 overall, 2-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and ranked No. 2 in the nation when the season was cancelled.

Now, most of the key elements of that team have returned for 2020-21, along with the addition of three talented freshmen to what will be one of college tennis' most talented and experienced rosters.

Three of the four seniors from last spring have elected to accept NCAA waivers and return to school in Chapel Hill. William Blumberg, Josh Peck and Simon Soendergaard all will play as fifth-year seniors in 2020-21. Their 2020 classmate, team captain Ladd Harrison, graduated in May and is pursuing a career in the financial industry.

Blumberg, Peck and Soendergaard, all of whom are among the top players in school history, are now part of a five-man 2021 senior class that also includes returning All-Americas Mac Kiger and Benjamin Sigouin.

"This is wonderful to have those three seniors return, not just from a tennis perspective but because of the quality of their characters as people and teammates," head coach Sam Paul says. "It's also nice for this group to get another chance to compete together as a team after the way the season was cut short last spring. This new, larger senior class will certainly be a special group, given its extensive talents and skills."

All-America Brian Cernoch returns in 2020-21 as a junior, while the sophomore class will consist of Mark Dillon, Rinky Hijikata and Anuj Watane. A three-man freshman class enrolled at UNC this fall in Peter Murphy, Adam Neff and Logan Zapp.

The 2020-21 Carolina roster includes five returning All-America players, including Blumberg, who is just one of three eight-time All-Americas in men's Intercollegiate Tennis Administration history. Other returning 2020 All-Americas include the doubles team of Kiger and Soendergaard and the doubles team of Blumberg and Cernoch. Sigouin earned All-America honors in singles in 2019, and Hijikata's background as a top amateur singles player from Australia has earned him mention as a possible future All-America.

Carolina players earned five All-America honors in 2019-20 from the ITA, tying as the highest figure of any program in the nation last spring.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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Players Mentioned

William Blumberg

Brian Cernoch

Mark Dillon

Ladd Harrison

Rinky Hijikata

Mac Kiger

Peter Murphy

Josh Peck

Benjamin Sigouin

Simon Soendergaard

Anuj Watane

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