2019-20 Men's Tennis Roster
William Blumberg
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- null
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Greenwich, Conn.
- High School:
- Greenwich
• The first 10-time All-America in ITA history, winning the honor in both singles and doubles in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021
• The 2021 ITA Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award winner
• Won the 2020 ITA Senior Player of the Year award
• Winner of the 2020 Mildred McCaskill Award given by UNC (success in athletics, academics & community outreach)
• Winner of the 2020 Patterson Medal as UNC's top male athlete
• Four-time first-team All-ACC in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021
• 2018 ACC Player of the Year
• Ranked as high as No. 1 both singles and doubles during the 2018 season
• Won the 2017 ITA Men’s All-American Singles Championship
and finished as runner-up in doubles
• 2017 NCAA Singles Runner-Up
• 2017 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
• 2017 ITA National Rookie of the Year
• 2017 ACC Freshman of the Year
• 2017 All-NCAA Tournament at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles
• All-ACC Academic Team, 2017
GoHeels Exclusive: For Blumberg, It's All About the "WE"
2020-21 SEASON
Final rankings: #14 singles, #4 doubles (with Brian Cernoch)
The first 10-time All-America in men's ITA history ... Ranked #14 in singes, #4 in doubles (w/ Brian Cernoch) ... Posted a 12-3 singles record (11-3 in dual matches) ... Had a 15-3 doubles record with Cernoch ... 2021 Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award winner ... Four-time NCAA quarterfinalist in singles ... First-team All-ACC pick, winning the honor for a fourth consecutive year.
2019-20 SEASON
Final rankings: #9 singles, #13 doubles (with Brian Cernoch)
Won the 2020 national ITA Senior Player of the Year award ... Became the third Tar Heel to win the honor, joining Raian Luchici (2006) and Ronnie Schneider (2017) ... Also won the Senior Player of the Year award for the Carolina Regional ... Earned All-America honors in both singles and doubles for a fourth consecutive season ... One of just three men’s players in ITA history to be an eight-time All-America, along with John-Patrick Smith (2008-11) of Tennessee and Rick Leach (1984-87) of USC ... Went a perfect 10-0 in singles (all in dual matches at #1 singles), while only dropping one set all season ... Also teamed with Brian Cernoch in doubles to go 10-2 in dual matches ... Team captain for a second consecutive year, serving with Ladd Harrison and Benjamin Sigouin ... Won his final five singles matches of the season, all against ranked opponents in straight sets ... Won the 2020 Mildred McCaskill Award, which is presented annually to two senior Tar Heels across all sports who have excelled athletically, academically and in community outreach ... Won UNC’s 2020 Rammy Award for Outstanding Male Athlete … Earned a spot on the ACC Academic Roll for his work in the classroom ... Recipient of the 2020 Patterson Medal, UNC's most prestigious athletic honor
JUNIOR YEAR (2018-19)
Final rankings: #14 singles, #7 doubles
Earned All-America honors for the third consecutive season ... Also named first-team All-ACC for the third year in a row ... Finished the year ranked No. 14 nationally in singles and No. 7 in doubles (with partner Blaine Boyden) ... Went 7-7 in dual matches this spring and 5-1 in ACC play ... All-America in both singles and doubles for the third year in a row ... A three-time first-team All-ACC selection, he was ACC Player of the Year in 2018 and ACC Freshman of the Year in 2017 ... Team captain for 2018-19 ... Ranked #445 in ATP World Rankings at the end of the 2019 season ... Two-time finalist (2018, 2019) for UNC’s Rammy Award as Carolina’s Top Male Athlete
SOPHOMORE YEAR (2017-18)
Earned All-America honors in singles and doubles for the second year in a row ... Voted 2018 ACC Player of the Year ... Fifth player in program history to win the honor, the first since David Caldwell won three years in a row from 1994-96 ... First UNC player to earn ACC Player of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year honors during his career ... Ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles at points during the season and ended the spring No. 2 in singles and No. 3 in doubles ... 21-3 in singles including a 10-1 mark in ACC play and a 17-2 mark against ranked opponents ... Played all of his matches at No. 1 singles ... Teamed with Robert Kelly for a 16-3 mark at No. 1 doubles ... They were 7-0 in ACC play and 6-2 vs. ranked teams ... Earned All-Tournament honors at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles at the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship ... During the fall season, won the singles title at the ITA Men's All-American Championship and finished as the runner-up, with Kelly, in doubles ... He became the first UNC player to win the singles title, beating UCLA's Martin Redlicki 6-4, 6-4 ... Finalist for Rammy Awards for Male Athlete of the Year and Record-Breaking Season
FRESHMAN YEAR (2017)
Finished the year with a 31-3 record in singles, winning 24 matches in a row before falling in the NCAA singles final ... NCAA singles runner-up, the first player in program history to reach the championship match ... Went 18-2 against ranked opponents ... Voted 2017 ACC Freshman of the Year and is the fifth Tar Heel to earn that honor, the first since Brayden Schnur in 2014 ... Just the second Tar Heel named ITA National Rookie of the Year (the other was Schnur in 2014) ... One of two freshmen named first-team All-ACC ... Went undefeated in ACC regular-season play, finishing 11-0. (Did not play in the match at Louisville.) ... His 11 wins in conference play is more than any player in program history ... Finished 24-8 in doubles, playing at No. 1... Played mostly at No. 2 in singles, but went 2-1 at No. 1 ... Enrolled at UNC in January and made an immediate impact, playing at No. 1 singles and doubles in his first collegiate match, just three days after classes started
BEFORE UNC
Graduate of Greenwich High School ... Ranked as high as No. 4 in the World ITF junior rankings ... Played in juniors at all four Grand Slams ... Reached the doubles finals at the French Open and the singles and doubles quarterfinals at Wimbledon ... USA World Junior Davis Cup Champion ... Connecticut state champion in singles as a senior at Greenwich
MORE ON BLUMBERG: Son of Amy and David Blumberg ... Has two brothers ... His father played tennis at Colgate
The best part of being a Tar Heel tennis player is: wearing Carolina blue
My favorite part of competing for Coach Paul is: playing for a guy that honestly cares about the team on and off the court is super special
Favorite tennis memory: winning Junior Davis Cup for the U.S.
Dream doubles partner: Pat McNally
Favorite post-match meal: chicken fingers and fries
My favorite sport other than tennis is: golf
Outside of tennis, I like to spend time: hanging with my friends and family
Favorite movie: Good Will Hunting
