University of North Carolina Athletics
Brian Cernoch and the Tar Heels continue their NCAA quest on Monday May 17 in Orlando.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Men's Tennis Set For NCAA Tilt With Georgia Monday
May 14, 2021 | Men's Tennis
Date: Monday May 17, 2021
Site: Orlando, Fla. (USTA National Campus)
Time: 5 p.m.
• North Carolina's men's tennis team will continue its quest for a second 2021 national championship when it meets Georgia on Monday morning in Orlando. The Tar Heels won the 2021 ITA National Team Indoor championship in February.
• The sixth-seeded Tar Heels and 11th-seeded Bulldogs will be one of two matches in the round of 16 to begin at 10 a.m. on Monday.
• Third-seeded Tennessee and Arizona also will start at the same time. The winners of the two 10 a.m. matches will advance to meet in the NCAA quarterfinals on Thursday May 20 in Orlando.
Tar Heels vs. Bulldogs
• This is the sixth NCAA Tournament meeting in the last 10 years between North Carolina and Georgia. Monday will be the sixth NCAA Tournament match between the schools since 2012.
• The Tar Heels are 3-2 against Georgia in the NCAA Tournament in that 10-year span since 2012 and also beat the Bulldogs in the 2017 ITA National Team Indoors.
Recent Series History
2012 NCAA Round of 16, UGA 4-0 in Athens, Ga.
2014 NCAA Round of 16, UNC 4-2 in Athens, Ga.
2016 NCAA Quarterfinal, UGA 4-0 in Tulsa, Okla.
*2017 ITA National Indoors First Round, UNC 4-2 in Charlottesville, Va.
2017 NCAA Semifinal, UNC 4-3 in Athens, Ga.
2019 NCAA Round of 32, UNC 4-1 in Chapel Hill
2021 NCAA Round of 16, Orlando, Fla.
How They Got Here:
Two Early-Round Shutouts
• Carolina advanced to Orlando with a pair of home wins last weekend in the first and second round of NCAA play.
• In the first round on May 8, the Tar Heels blanked Presbyterian, 4-0. The next day in the second round, Brian Cernoch won the clinching singles match in a 4-0 shutout of 19th-ranked Oklahoma State.
Carolina's NCAA Tournament History
• Carolina is making its 29th appearance in the NCAA men's tennis championship and its seventh in a row.
• The Tar Heels have made 25 NCAA appearancee under 28th-year head coach Sam Paul.
• UNC has advanced to the NCAA semifinals twice, both in the last three NCAA Tournaments (2017, 2019).
• The Tar Heels reached their first NCAA final in 2017.
• UNC is 38-28 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, making its first appearance in 1976.
• Carolina swept two wins in Chapel Hill on May 8 and 9, hosting NCAA Tournament matches for the seventh consecutive year and eighth in the last nine.
In the NCAA Singles & Doubles Fields
• William Blumberg and Brian Cernoch earned the No. 2 overall doubles seed as four UNC players are part of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championship field
• The field includes 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams.
• Blumberg also grabbed an at-large singles selection and was joined by sophomore teammate Rinky Hijikata. Senior Benjamin Sigouin was named as a singles alternate.
• Blumberg and Cernoch will be the No. 2 national seed in doubles competition behind top seed Timi Sandkaulen and Finn Reynolds of Ole Miss. Tar Heel doubles teams have reached the NCAA quarterfinals in three of the last four NCAA Championships.
• Blumberg is the only UNC player in program history to advance to at least the singles quarterfinals of three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Carolina Advances To ACC Final
• Carolina won a marathon match over Wake Forest in the semifinal round and advanced to the ACC Tournament championship match on the last weekend in April.
• After dispatching Virginia Tech, 4-2 in the quarterfinals, Josh Peck and Rinky Hijikata each won third-set tiebreakers to lead Carolina to a come-from-behind, 4-3, win over Wake Forest in the semifinals. With the Demon Deacons leading, 3-2, and two singles matches remaining, Hijikata gutted out a three-set win at No. 1 singles to tie the score. Peck then clinched the berth in the ACC final with a win at No. 3.
• Virginia edged the Tar Heels, 4-3, in the championship match.
Four Tar Heels On All-ACC Teams
• Four UNC players earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors for the 2021 season after a vote of the league's head coaches.
• Senior William Blumberg earned first-team honors for the fourth time and was joined on the first team by sophomore first-time honoree Rinky Hijikata. Junior Brian Cernoch grabbed second-team honors for the second time (joining 2019). Senior Benjamin Sigouin, earning All-ACC honors for a third time, was on the third team.
2021 ITA Indoor National Champs
• Brian Cernoch won the clinching singles match for the second day in a row as Carolina beat Baylor, 4-1, in the title match of the ITA Indoor National Championships on February 14 in Champaign, Ill.
• Cernoch was named Most Outstanding Player of the event afterward.
• Cernoch, Benjamin Sigouin and William Blumberg all won their singles matches as the Tar Heels captured their second ITA Indoor National Championship, joining the 2016 squad.
Site: Orlando, Fla. (USTA National Campus)
Time: 5 p.m.
• North Carolina's men's tennis team will continue its quest for a second 2021 national championship when it meets Georgia on Monday morning in Orlando. The Tar Heels won the 2021 ITA National Team Indoor championship in February.
• The sixth-seeded Tar Heels and 11th-seeded Bulldogs will be one of two matches in the round of 16 to begin at 10 a.m. on Monday.
• Third-seeded Tennessee and Arizona also will start at the same time. The winners of the two 10 a.m. matches will advance to meet in the NCAA quarterfinals on Thursday May 20 in Orlando.
Tar Heels vs. Bulldogs
• This is the sixth NCAA Tournament meeting in the last 10 years between North Carolina and Georgia. Monday will be the sixth NCAA Tournament match between the schools since 2012.
• The Tar Heels are 3-2 against Georgia in the NCAA Tournament in that 10-year span since 2012 and also beat the Bulldogs in the 2017 ITA National Team Indoors.
Recent Series History
2012 NCAA Round of 16, UGA 4-0 in Athens, Ga.
2014 NCAA Round of 16, UNC 4-2 in Athens, Ga.
2016 NCAA Quarterfinal, UGA 4-0 in Tulsa, Okla.
*2017 ITA National Indoors First Round, UNC 4-2 in Charlottesville, Va.
2017 NCAA Semifinal, UNC 4-3 in Athens, Ga.
2019 NCAA Round of 32, UNC 4-1 in Chapel Hill
2021 NCAA Round of 16, Orlando, Fla.
How They Got Here:
Two Early-Round Shutouts
• Carolina advanced to Orlando with a pair of home wins last weekend in the first and second round of NCAA play.
• In the first round on May 8, the Tar Heels blanked Presbyterian, 4-0. The next day in the second round, Brian Cernoch won the clinching singles match in a 4-0 shutout of 19th-ranked Oklahoma State.
Carolina's NCAA Tournament History
• Carolina is making its 29th appearance in the NCAA men's tennis championship and its seventh in a row.
• The Tar Heels have made 25 NCAA appearancee under 28th-year head coach Sam Paul.
• UNC has advanced to the NCAA semifinals twice, both in the last three NCAA Tournaments (2017, 2019).
• The Tar Heels reached their first NCAA final in 2017.
• UNC is 38-28 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, making its first appearance in 1976.
• Carolina swept two wins in Chapel Hill on May 8 and 9, hosting NCAA Tournament matches for the seventh consecutive year and eighth in the last nine.
In the NCAA Singles & Doubles Fields
• William Blumberg and Brian Cernoch earned the No. 2 overall doubles seed as four UNC players are part of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championship field
• The field includes 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams.
• Blumberg also grabbed an at-large singles selection and was joined by sophomore teammate Rinky Hijikata. Senior Benjamin Sigouin was named as a singles alternate.
• Blumberg and Cernoch will be the No. 2 national seed in doubles competition behind top seed Timi Sandkaulen and Finn Reynolds of Ole Miss. Tar Heel doubles teams have reached the NCAA quarterfinals in three of the last four NCAA Championships.
• Blumberg is the only UNC player in program history to advance to at least the singles quarterfinals of three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
Carolina Advances To ACC Final
• Carolina won a marathon match over Wake Forest in the semifinal round and advanced to the ACC Tournament championship match on the last weekend in April.
• After dispatching Virginia Tech, 4-2 in the quarterfinals, Josh Peck and Rinky Hijikata each won third-set tiebreakers to lead Carolina to a come-from-behind, 4-3, win over Wake Forest in the semifinals. With the Demon Deacons leading, 3-2, and two singles matches remaining, Hijikata gutted out a three-set win at No. 1 singles to tie the score. Peck then clinched the berth in the ACC final with a win at No. 3.
• Virginia edged the Tar Heels, 4-3, in the championship match.
Four Tar Heels On All-ACC Teams
• Four UNC players earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors for the 2021 season after a vote of the league's head coaches.
• Senior William Blumberg earned first-team honors for the fourth time and was joined on the first team by sophomore first-time honoree Rinky Hijikata. Junior Brian Cernoch grabbed second-team honors for the second time (joining 2019). Senior Benjamin Sigouin, earning All-ACC honors for a third time, was on the third team.
2021 ITA Indoor National Champs
• Brian Cernoch won the clinching singles match for the second day in a row as Carolina beat Baylor, 4-1, in the title match of the ITA Indoor National Championships on February 14 in Champaign, Ill.
• Cernoch was named Most Outstanding Player of the event afterward.
• Cernoch, Benjamin Sigouin and William Blumberg all won their singles matches as the Tar Heels captured their second ITA Indoor National Championship, joining the 2016 squad.
Players Mentioned
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