Game-Changer

by Lee Pace

Tar Heel Will Jansen was locked in a back-and-forth match against Matthew Thomson of Wake Forest on the first Sunday of April, the sounds of the Englishman grunting with each stroke alternating with the pop of the yellow ball and squeak of the players' shoes.

Spectators on both the north and south ends of the court leaned forward in their sparkling new seats (Carolina blue, no less, with seat backs and arm rests) taking in the twists and turns in the match, with Jansen scrambling back from a match point on deuce while trailing 3-5 in the third set.

Five of his teammates whose matches were complete watched from one court away and alternately pivoted in the other direction to follow the one match still going at the far end of the six-court configuration. After each Jansen point, as he reeled off winning three games in a row to take the lead in the third set, the spectating Tar Heels belted out the shouts of TAR ... HEELS ... TAR ... HEELS ... across the stadium, the fans answering with gusto.

And why not? It's a perfect spring afternoon, Carolina blue courts to match the sky, a new $18.5 million facility at long last open, and the home team riveted in a tight match with an old rival.

When Wake Forest's Thomson flared a volley wide right, Jansen flipped his racket to the ground, clenched his fists, screamed with delight, and was mobbed by a dozen teammates. His win clinched a 4-3 team victory, Carolina's first win in the new outdoor tennis facility – newly dedicated as the Chewning Tennis Center.

"One of best parts of college tennis is an atmosphere like that," teammate Ryan Seggerman reflected afterward. "Will will remember this the rest of his life, being fully in the moment, embracing the crowd, embracing the new facility. Being loud, cheering for each other, that's why we play college tennis. This match means a lot because of the rivalry with Wake Forest. It was so close, it came down to a couple of points here and there. This was an atmosphere you don't get everywhere.

"It's a special place and a special time to be here."

Among the spectators were a handful of members of the Carolina women's team, which on the previous two days had christened the new venue by handily dispatching Florida State and Miami.

"What we have now is the perfect place to play college tennis," said Abbey Forbes, who as a graduate transfer from UCLA has seen dozens of facilities nationwide. "The game-changer is the southside seats. Having seats on both sides allows fans to be so intimate with the players. The players feel so supported by all the fans. No other school I know of has that level of intimacy between the players and fans."

A game-changer is precisely what Carolina Athletics officials, coaches Sam Paul for the men and Brian Kalbas for the women, and a cabal of generous benefactors had in mind a half dozen years ago when plans were first hatched to upgrade the home of Tar Heel tennis – which originally opened in 1992 on land behind the Friday Center just off Hwy. 54 east of campus. The courts and stadium were officially dedicated in a ceremony Friday just before the Carolina women's team, ranked No. 1 in the nation, played Duke. Primary on the agenda was the recognition of Tom Chewning, a Tar Heel tennis player from 1965-67 and the lead benefactor of the new outdoor complex now known as the Chewning Tennis Center.

"I am delighted we now have a facility that matches the high level of tennis our teams have competed at for so many years," Chewning says. "It's met our expectations. This is a tribute to the legacy of Carolina Tennis. To use the Chinese proverb, 'As you drink the water, remember those who dug the well.' This is worthy of all the effort of the former coaches and players and a tribute to them as well as the coaches and players we have today."

That is a high level indeed.

In February, the women's team won its fourth straight ITA Indoor National Championship, its fifth in the last six years, and seventh over the decade. The Tar Heels, in the 20th season of Kalbas' direction, are atop the ACC standings with a 12-0 league mark and 26-0 overall record entering Friday's match against Duke at 3 p.m.

The men are 7-3 in the ACC and 15-7 overall and have matches against Florida State at home Friday and Miami on Sunday to wrap up the regular season. When post-season play opens the following week, Sam Paul in his 30th year leading the program will be attempting to match recent standards of advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 the last eight years. The Tar Heels have won two ITA Indoor National Championships and advanced to two final fours since 2016.

"It's hard to describe how incredible it is," Paul said. "We've not played in this kind of arena before. To hear the crowd roar is phenomenal. You walk in and you feel it's something special. We're so thankful to have this great facility. We've recruited some great players over the years, and now it's going to get better. You're going to want to play tennis here."

Kalbas says he got emotional addressing his team after its 6-1 win over Florida State on March 31, the first official competition in the stadium.

"I was a little overwhelmed, a little teary-eyed, thinking of all the players who have come through and the coaches who have done so much for the program," Kalbas said. "We are so grateful to the donors who have made this incredible facility possible. I feel like the luckiest person in the world."

The outdoor portion of the project includes 12 competition and practice courts, championship court lighting and stadium seating with awnings for sun and rain cover. There is a new concession stand, restroom and outdoor eating tables. The courts are colored Carolina blue, and the university's signature argyle stripes adorn the surface between each court. There are new scoreboards on the south side of each court.

The indoor component includes resurfacing all six courts, repainting the outside of the building, installing new lighting, and fixing leaks in the roof and other structural problems that had developed over three decades. The entrance to the building and graphics heralding great players and teams from the past have been redesigned as well.

"It's the nicest facility I've ever played in, it's spectacular," Kalbas said. "It's incredible for spectators, amazing for our players. I've never been in a facility where there is seating all the way around."

Added Carl Polling, a senior on the men's team, "It's an awesome facility. It's beautiful, the courts are great, the spectator seating is unlike anything I've seen. It's been fun to play at home in front of the fans. It's definitely one of the best facilities in the nation."

Momentum among Athletic Department and Rams Club officials and a core group of former tennis players grew in recent years to overhaul the Cone-Kenfield complex as the outdoor courts were prone to cracking and the indoor courts were poorly lit and subject to rainfall seeping through cracks in the roof. Atop the pyramid of support were Chewning, Keith Stoneman (varsity tennis player from 1961-63 and captain in 1963) and Joe Frierson (a player from 1989-92 who has remained active by leading the Carolina Tennis Circle, a group of lettermen who've supported the program).

"It's almost hard to believe it's the same facility," Frierson said. "Not only are the colors and graphics great, but the viewing experience is also incredible. We mimicked the design of the USTA National Campus in Orlando, and the U.S. Open practice facility is similar as well. Our facility now is easily top five in the country."

As the Carolina-Wake Forest match evolved that first Sunday in April, spectators had the choice of sitting on either side of any of six courts, moving to watch a different match as one ended, and even walking along the concourse above and behind the seats to follow more than one match at a time.

"The beauty of college tennis has always been the simultaneous action," Frierson said. "It's sort of like Masters Sunday, going from putt to putt and someone's always hitting an important shot. One court may have a break point, another may be a tiebreaker. It's really exciting that way."

Alan Faulkner is a 2006 Carolina graduate and an avid tennis fan. He's attended numerous Carolina tennis matches over the years.

"What I love about this facility now is that you can actually get over the court all the way around it," he said. "The unique thing about college tennis is you can be right on top of the action. There's not a bad seat in the house."

Alongside Chewning in serving as the glue between the Athletic Department, Town of Chapel Hill, The Rams Club, the tennis coaches, the general contractor and all the subcontractors was Stoneman, a 1963 Carolina graduate. Stoneman has had a thriving business career in Charlotte in private equity, as well as ownership in the Bojangles' chain for a number of years and as a major franchisee of Wendy's restaurants. Through overseeing the construction of numerous restaurants over the years, Stoneman knows how to ride herd over budgets, permits, weather and scheduling.

"Tom and I are a good team," Stoneman said. "He's a great manager and sees the big picture. I think I know how to bring a project in on time and on budget. I am delighted this facility will have Tom's name on it. He really is responsible for our programs being as successful as they are. For 30 years he's been a benefactor and has been there to support the team when it needed things. Plain and simple, the tennis program would not be where it is today without Tom and Nancy. They have been so instrumental in making this happen. It's a deserving honor for him."

Vaughn Bryson, a Tar Heel baseball player and 1960 Carolina graduate, has been a significant benefactor to a variety of causes around the University and Carolina Athletics. He stepped up to help in the tennis complex because of a particular interest in tennis nurtured over two decades serving as a volunteer chairman for a pro tennis event in Indianapolis, where he lived while rising the ranks to the role as president and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company.

"I am impressed that both Brian and Sam have developed top-notch programs in what was a sub-par facility," Bryson said. "I thought it important we have a first-place facility to go with the outstanding programs we have."

Frierson was at home in Athens, Ga., as the Tar Heel-Demon Deacon match evolved and received a photo taken during the match from his son, a junior at Carolina. It was Frierson's suggestion that they install courts colored Carolina blue instead of the standard green court with maroon borders, and the beauty of the image was striking.

"Our color is the best color in the country," he said. "Those courts with the Carolina blue sky – that is a showstopper."

Players Mentioned

Abbey Forbes

Will Jansen

Ryan Seggerman

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