North Carolina
College of Charleston
UNC Advances With 4-0 Win Over Charleston
May 14, 2016 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Third-ranked North Carolina opened play in the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship Saturday with a 4-0 first-round win over visiting College of Charleston at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The victory set up a second-round meeting with No. 31 Tulane, which beat No. 41 Dartmouth 4-0 in the first of Saturday's two NCAA men's tennis matches in Chapel Hill.
“We'll be ready to go,” UNC coach Sam Paul said. “Our team has been looking forward to this. Tulane is playing well – they've got a good team. It will be a great match tomorrow.”
The second-round match is set for 1 p.m., and the winner moves on to the NCAA Sweet 16 in Tulsa, Okla. Admission is $5 (free for kids 6 and under) and tickets are available at the entrance.
Heading into Saturday's match, the Tar Heels (26-4) hadn't played in three weeks, since the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship on April 23. During that span, the UNC players balanced practices and workouts with final exams. With the semester now over, however, tennis was again the focus and the Tar Heels, seeded second overall in the 64-team field, were determined to get off to a fast start.
“It's a beautiful day and it was fun to get a crowd out,” sophomore Robert Kelly said. “It's been a while since ACC's so it was fun to get out and shake some of the rust off.”
Carolina picked up the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. At the No. 2 spot, juniors Brayden Schnur and Jack Murray beat Charleston's Vasily Kichigin and Josh Record 6-1. At No. 3, junior Ronnie Schneider and freshman Anu Kodali closed out the point with a 6-3 win over Zack Lewis and Charlie Ghriskey. Kelly and senior Brett Clark, playing at No. 1 doubles and ranked No. 3 in the nation, were up 5-3 when Schneider and Kodali locked up their match.
In singles, Carolina won all six first sets handily. Kelly, playing at No. 5, was the first to close his out, taking just 40 minutes to earn a quick 6-0, 6-1 win over Kichigin. At No. 2, Schneider won 6-1, 6-1 to put the Tar Heels up 3-0. Murray, at No. 4, closed out the win and earned another match for his team with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Lewis.
Clark, the only senior in the UNC lineup, will play his final match at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center Sunday. “It's going to be a sad moment but also a happy one – I've had such a great time here in my four years,” said Clark, a team captain who has surpassed the 100-career-wins mark in both singles and doubles. “The most important thing is the team gets the win. I'm going to do my best to help.”
May 14, 2016
Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, Chapel Hill, N.C.
No. 3 North Carolina 4, College of Charleston 0
Doubles
Order of match finish: (2,3)
1. #3 Robert Kelly/Brett Clark (UNC) d. Juan Estevarena/Rodrigo Encinas (CoC), 5-3 unf
2. #27 Brayden Schnur/Jack Murray (UNC) d. Vasily Kichigin/Josh Record (CofC), 6-1
3. Anu Kodali/Ronnie Schneider (UNC) d. Zack Lewis/Charlie Ghriskey (CofC), 6-3
Singles
Order of match finish: (5,2,4)
1. #26 Brayden Schnur (UNC) vs. Juan Estaverana (CofC), 6-2, 3-1, DNF
2. #28 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) d. Rodrigo Encinas (CofC), 6-1, 6-1
3. #46 Brett Clark (UNC) vs. Charlie Ghriskey (CofC), 6-4, 4-2 DNF
4. Jack Murray (UNC) d. Zack Lewis (CofC), 6-3, 6-0
5. #117 Robert Kelly (UNC) d. Vasily Kichigin (CofC), 6-0, 6-1
6. Anu Kodali (UNC) vs. Garrett Gordon (CofC), 6-2, 5-1
Records: North Carolina 26-4, College of Charleston 19-7
Players Mentioned
