North Carolina
Georgetown
Tar Heels Open Strong With Two Victories
January 16, 2016 | Men's Tennis
Next up is a much tougher test, as UNC hosts ITA Kickoff Weekend, in which Indiana, Drake and NC State will visit Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 23-24.
“We've got to get sharper and have better shot selection, better concentration,” UNC coach Sam Paul said, looking ahead to the challenge. “It's good to get the first-round jitters out, but we've got to keep getting better every day.
“Any success we've had in the past is over. It's a brand new year and a brand new start – we've got to get everybody playing up to their capabilities 100 percent. That's what makes us a strong team.”
UNC opened strong against Georgetown Saturday, claiming the doubles point. Sophomore Robert Kelly and senior Brett Clark, the top-ranked team in the nation, won 6-1 at No. 1. Juniors Brayden Schnur and Jack Murray won 6-0 at No. 2 doubles, and the No. 3 match, with junior Ronnie Schneider and freshman Anudeep Kodali representing the Tar Heels, was halted at 4-2 with UNC in the lead but already having secured the point.
In singles, Kelly claimed victory first at No. 4, defeating Georgetown's Jordan Portner 6-2, 6-2. Next to finish was Murray at No. 5, beating Mike Chen 6-2, 6-4. Schnur clinched the victory with his win at No. 1, beating Dan Khanin 7-6 (7-0), 6-3. Schneider then won a hard-fought match against Peter Beatty at No. 3, 6-4, 6-4.
Clark's match at No. 2 was halted because of an issue with a light hanging over the court. After a pause, it was restarted on the first court to clear, but ultimately halted for good at 5-4 because the Tar Heels had already sealed the win.
In the afternoon, Carolina again claimed the doubles point. Kelly and Clark won 6-0 at No. 1, Murray and senior Andrew Gores won 6-1 at No. 2 and the freshman duo of Kodali and Blaine Boyden won 6-0 at No. 3.
In singles, Clark played at No. 1, winning easily 6-0, 6-1 to claim UNC's second point of the match. Murray won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 and then senior Stuart DePaolo sealed the win with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 4. Tar Heel freshman Arturo Schmidt, who enrolled at UNC and joined the team at the start of the spring semester, won 6-1, 6-0 over Arun Chapero in his first collegiate outing. The day's final match went to the Aggies, with John Wilson IV claiming a 6-4, 6-4 win over UNC senior Connor Daly.
All three Tar Heel freshmen – Boyden, Kodali and Schmidt – saw action and picked up wins. “It was helpful for them to get some experience in a dual match situation,” Paul said. “Arturo has just been here for seven days, so for him just to see what a dual match is all about was good.”
Both the UNC men and women host four-team mini-tournaments for the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The women open play with two matches on Friday, then the men start play on Saturday with NC State and Drake facing off at 9:30 a.m. UNC hosts Indiana at 12:30.
On Sunday, the men's consolation match, pitting Saturday's two losers, is at 9:30 a.m. and the championship is at 1 p.m. The winner moves on to the ITA National Team Indoors Feb. 12-15 in Charlottesville, Va.
“It's a national tournament and we'd love to see a great crowd,” Paul said. “The intensity is going to ramp up a hundred times next weekend with all of the teams that are coming in.”
Results, Jan. 16
#9 North Carolina 6, Georgetown 0
Doubles (Team Winning Majority Of Matches Earns One Team Point)
Order of match finish: (2,1)
1. Robert Kelly/Brett Clark (UNC) def. Jordan Portner/Peter Beatty (GU), 6-1
2. Brayden Schnur/Jack Murray (UNC) def. Mike Chen/Mac Rechan (GU), 6-0
3. Ronnie Schneider/Anudeep Kodali (UNC) def. Yannik Mahlangu/Dan Khanin (GU), 4-2
Singles (One Team Point Per Singles Match)
Order of match finish: (4,5,1,3,6)
1. Brayden Schnur (UNC) def. Dan Khanin (GU), 7-6 (7-0), 6-3
2. Brett Clark (UNC) def. Marco Lam (GU), 5-4 DNF
3. Ronnie Schneider (UNC) def. Peter Beatty (GU), 6-4, 6-4
4. Robert Kelly (UNC) def. Jordan Portner (GU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Jack Murray (UNC) def. Mike Chen (GU), 6-2, 6-4
6. Anudeep Kodali (UNC) def. Will Sharton (GU), 6-4, 6-4
Records: North Carolina 1-0, Georgetown 1-1
#9 North Carolina 6, North Carolina A&T 1
Doubles
Order of match finish: (1,3,2)
1. Robert Kelly/Brett Clark (UNC) def. Arun Chapero/Nicolas Ardur (NCAT), 6-0
2. Andrew Gores/Jack Murray (UNC) def. Brett Caban/Kyle Scott (NCAT), 6-1
3. Boyden/Kadali (UNC) def. John Wilson/Dreshaun Jarmon (NCAT), 6-0
Singles
Order of match finish: (1,2,4,5,3,6)
1. Brett Clark (UNC) def. Brett Caban (NCAT), 6-0, 6-1
2. Jack Murray (UNC) def. Kyle Scott (NCAT), 6-0, 6-0
3. Blaine Boyden (UNC) def. Nicolas Ardur (NCAT), 6-1, 6-2
4. Stuart DePaolo (UNC) def. Arun Chapero (NCAT), 6-1, 6-0
5. Arturo Schmidt (UNC) def. Dreshaun Jarmon (NCAT), 6-1, 6-1
6. John Wilson IV (NCAT) def. Connor Daly (UNC), 6-4, 6-4
Records: North Carolina 2-0, North Carolina A&T 0-1
Players Mentioned
