North Carolina
Texas
Longhorns Squeak Past UNC As Furious Rally Falls Short
February 21, 2015 | Men's Tennis
AUSTIN, TEXAS – In a contest of highly ranked teams that certainly lived up to its billing, the eighth-ranked North Carolina men's tennis team fell to No. 10 Texas 4-3 in a match-deciding singles tiebreaker on Friday at Weller Indoor Tennis Center. Trailing 3-0, the Tar Heels clawed back one singles match at a time and eventually evened the team points at 3-3. However, with the match on the line, the Longhorns' Lloyd Glasspool was able to edge sophomore Ronnie Schneider on court two in a dramatic, back-and-forth duel that ended in a third-set tiebreaker, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6).
Texas improves to 10-1 with the victory, while Carolina drops to 9-4 this spring.
Doubles play began in a promising fashion for the Tar Heels, as Schneider and sophomore Jack Murray notched a 6-2 victory over Nick Naumann and Adrian Ortiz-Ruiz on court three. The Longhorns erased the Carolina advantage on court one, where Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olesen topped UNC's pair of sophomore Brayden Schnur and senior Oystein Steiro 6-4. Adrien Berkowicz and George Goldhoff then secured the doubles point for Texas by defeating junior Brett Clark and freshman Robert Kelly 6-3 on court two.
Texas did not slow down in singles play, at least initially. Naumann extended the Longhorns' lead to 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Steiro on court five. Sixteenth-ranked Soren Hess-Olesen, twin brother of Carolina senior Esben Hess-Olesen, registered another victory for Texas on court one by topping UNC's sixth-ranked Schnur 6-1, 6-4.
The Tar Heels refused to back down facing a 3-0 deficit. Clark earned a solid win to get Carolina on the board, defeating Texas' 65th-ranked Berkowicz on court three in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. Murray followed Clark's lead with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Texas' Goldhoff on court five. Robert Kelly, ranked 75th nationally, added UNC's third unanswered singles victory on court five, outlasting Ortiz-Ruiz 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 at the No. 6 singles spot.
Glasspool finally ended the almost three-hour marathon in the match-deciding tiebreaker. The Texas senior jumped out to 3-0 lead, but Schneider responded with three straight points to knot the tiebreaker at 3-3. Glasspool again rattled off three straight points to gain a 6-3 advantage, but the resilient Schneider fought off three consecutive match points to continue the seemingly unending struggle for the fourth team point. Finally, Glasspool separated himself and recorded two straight points to clinch the victory for Texas.
In 2014, Carolina beat Texas 4-3 in a match that also came down to a decisive third set. This marks the second time this spring that the Tar Heels have fallen in a match-deciding tiebreaker, as Illinois nipped the Tar Heels in similar fashion back in January.
Carolina will continue its non-conference gauntlet with a rematch against top-ranked Oklahoma on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST. The Sooners earned a 4-1 win when the two teams met in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship earlier this month.
#10 Texas 4, #8 North Carolina 3
Singles competition
1. #16 Soren Hess-Olesen (UT) def. #6 Brayden Schnur (UNC) 6-1, 6-4
2. Lloyd Glasspool (UT) def. #19 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Brett Clark (UNC) def. #65 Adrien Berkowicz (UT) 6-3, 7-5
4. #104 Jack Murray (UNC) def. George Goldhoff (UT) 7-5, 6-3
5. Nick Naumann (UT) def. Oystein Steiro (UNC) 6-1, 6-1
6. #75 Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Adrian Ortiz-Ruiz (UT) 1-6, 7-5, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Soren Hess-Olesen/Lloyd Glasspool (UT) def. Brayden Schnur/Oystein Steiro (UNC) 6-4
2. Adrien Berkowicz/George Goldhoff (UT) def. Brett Clark/Robert Kelly (UNC) 6-3
3. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. Nick Naumann/Adrian Ortiz-Ruiz (UT) 6-2
Match Notes:
North Carolina 9-3; National ranking #8
Texas 9-1; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,1,3,4,6,2)
Players Mentioned
