Men's Tennis Aims for Redemption

It would be nice if the North Carolina men's tennis team got a second shot at rival Duke this weekend.

But Coach Sam Paul is preparing his team for another challenge: the winner of today's match between seventh-seeded Virginia and No. 8 Maryland.

The victor will next play the Tar Heels at noon on Friday in the quarterfinals.

"Just one match at a time," Paul said.

The 25th-ranked and second-seeded Tar Heels (16-5, 7-1 in the ACC) will look to adopt their coach's mindset this weekend in the ACC Tournament, which will be held at the Millbrook Exchange Tennis Center in Raleigh.

Although UNC had little trouble in beating both the Cavaliers (6-1) and Terrapins (7-0) during the regular season, Paul has seen the ACC's lower-seeded teams come ready to play in past tournaments.

Most recently, he has seen this trend against his own team.

Just last year, the then-No. 36 Tar Heels were upset victims, courtesy of No. 49 Clemson. The Tigers beat UNC 4-3 in the first round in Orlando, Fla., the site of last year's tournament.

And so Paul has put his game face on, pacing the grounds of Millbrook Exchange while his team gets last-minute instructions before Friday's match.

"Come on Nick, come on Geoff!" Paul barked at players Nicholas Monroe and Geoff Boyd as the two rushed to get their shoes on for Wednesday's afternoon practice.

If anyone benefits most from Paul's practice sessions, it is UNC's

No. 1 player, senior Marcio Petrone.

"Coach Paul and (assistant) Coach (Marc) Schwartz have believed in me ever since I got here," Petrone said. "They have helped me improve."

But the improvement of the entire team is necessary if the Tar Heels are to dethrone Duke, the defending champion.

It is one upset every ACC team has attempted to complete this year, but failed. The top-seeded Blue Devils have not lost a regular-season conference match since 1996, a 4-3 loss against the Tar Heels.

The score was the same in 2002, but it was Duke that beat UNC 4-3 on April 10. The Tar Heels' No. 6 player, Andrew Metzler, was on serve and ahead in the third set of his singles match at 5-3 before falling to the Blue Devils' Peter Shults 7-5.

Duke gained sole possession of first place with the come-from-behind win and cruised to another regular-season title while ending North Carolina's winning streak at six matches.

The Tar Heels have not won the regular season title since 1996, when they went undefeated in the ACC en route to a No. 16 national ranking.

But the focus is now set on the tournament, and Paul believes it is a chance for redemption.

"It is definitely one of our goals," Paul said. "So it is important we stay on top of things because we've got a good season going."

 

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.