Men's Tennis 2021 Season Recap
June 4, 2021 | Men's Tennis
• The Tar Heels won the 2021 ITA National Team Indoor championship in February.
• The sixth-seeded Tar Heels reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Georgia and finished No. 6 in the final ITA national rankings for 2021.
Carolina Reaches NCAA Tournament Round of 16
• Carolina advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament in Orlando with a pair of home wins 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.
• Georgia ended the Tar Heels' season, 4-3, in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Carolina's NCAA Tournament History
• Carolina made its 29th appearance in the NCAA men's tennis championship and its seventh in a row in 2021.
• 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 Singles & Doubles Fields
• William Blumberg and Brian Cernoch earned the No. 2 overall doubles seed as four UNC players were part of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championship field.
• The field included 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 but did not see action.
• Blumberg and Cernoch were the No. 2 national seed and earned All-America status for the second consecutive year by advancing to the 2021 quarterfinals.
• Tar Heel doubles teams have reached the NCAA quarterfinals in four of the last five NCAA Championships.
• Blumberg and Hijikata both earned All-America honors in 2021. Blumberg advanced to the quarterfinals, and Hijikata reached the round of 16.
• Blumberg finished his career as the only UNC player ever to advance at least to the singles quarterfinals of four consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
• Blumberg became the first 10-time All-America in ITA history by earning the honor in both singles and doubles for the fifth year in a row.
Blumberg Makes History As 10-Time All-America
• William Blumberg became the first 10-time All-America in ITA history in 2021.
• Blumberg is a 10-time ITA All-America, earning the honor five times in both singles and doubles. Entering the 2020 season, he had been one of three men's players in ITA history to be an eight-time All-America.
• Blumberg and Rinky HIjikata both cliched All-America honors in singles for the 2021 season by advancing into the Round of 16 in the singles bracket.
Six Tar Heels in Final ITA Rankings
• Six Carolina players earned spots in the final Oracle ITA Division I Men's Tennis rankings for the 2021 season.
• The Tar Heels placed four singles players and two doubles teams in the final rankings.
• In singles, fifth-year senior William Blumberg, who concluded his career as the first 10-time All-America in men's ITA history, finished No. 14. Sophomore Rinky Hijikata finished at No. 22, Benjamin Sigouin was No. 62 and Brian Cernoch was No. 66.
• Blumberg and Cernoch earned All-America status in doubles for the second consecutive year, finishing No. 4 in the rankings with a 16-4 record.
• Mac Kiger and Simon Soendergaard, who were All-America picks a year ago, finished No. 62 in 2021 with a 12-8 record.
Singles
No. 14 William Blumberg (14-4)
No. 22 Rinky Hijikata (15-3)
No. 62 Benjamin Sigouin (10-10)
No. 66 Brian Cernoch (20-5)
Doubles
No. 4 William Blumberg & Brian Cernoch (16-4)
No. 62 Mac Kiger & Simon Soendergaard (12-8)
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.
Strength & Conditioning Award Winners
• The UNC Strength and Conditioning staff selected team award winners for the 2020-21 school year, recognizing performance, effort and improvement. The awards honor student-athletes from Olympic sports team who excelled as part of in-season and out-of-season programs.
• Tar Heels were selected for Iron Ram, Most Improved and Newcomer awards. The Iron Ram Award goes to the top all-around performer on each team.
• Men's tennis winners for 2021:
Iron Ram: Brian Cernoch
Most Improved: Anuj Watane
Newcomer: Peter Murphy
Players Mentioned
