Men's tennis to challenge undefeated Ohio State

April 5, 2003. That’s the last time the Ohio State men’s tennis team lost a home match.

Nelson Vick was 11 years old, a gallon of gas cost $1.67. and “Finding Nemo” would not come out for another month. Eight years later, he would become a part of that Buckeye streak.

But now a 22-year-old senior on the North Carolina team, he’s ready to break it.

After playing most of his matches in the fifth or sixth slot for the Buckeyes, Vick wanted to go somewhere where he could have more playing opportunities. He chose Chapel Hill, but today he’ll return to Columbus with the hopes of halting the run at 181 games.

“I really have no animosity toward anybody on that team, I like everybody. But going back there and being able to beat them at home is really …”

Vick paused.

“It would just be a highlight of my college career.”

While Ohio State has the streak and the top ranking in the country, UNC has won six straight matches and is working its way up the rankings.

After starting the season at No. 43, the Tar Heels have jumped all the way up to No. 12, thanks largely to the play of freshmen Brayden Schnur and Ronnie Schneider, who are ranked 19th and 29th in singles, respectively.

“We check every box that would be required to even have a chance to come in there and beat the No. 1 team and knock down this winning streak,” Schneider said.

“I think we’re carrying almost all the possible momentum you could possibly carry into this match.”

But UNC wasn’t always the obvious choice, even for Schneider and Schnur — they too considered Ohio State.

“Schneider and Schnur were two of the best recruits in the world, so we obviously tried hard to recruit both of these great athletes,” said Ohio State coach Ty Tucker in an email.

“At the end of the day (North Carolina coach) Sam (Paul) and (associate head coach) Tripp (Phillips) were too good. They did a fantastic job and are certainly two of the best in the business.”

Schneider said the combination of UNC’s athletics and academics made the choice easier.

He added that it would be a huge boost to the Tar Heels’ confidence to beat the top-ranked Buckeyes, but the real gratification would come in giving Vick a win in his return to Columbus.

“To give him that satisfaction would mean almost just the same to me as knocking that win streak down,” he said. “He’s been great to me ever since I stepped foot on campus, so giving him that reward would mean the world to me.”

The Buckeyes are four matches away from surpassing the longest home-winning streak among Division I teams — men or women. The Stanford women’s tennis team won 184 consecutive dual matches at home between 1999 and 2011.

And while Tucker hopes the Buckeyes can pick up win No. 182 today, he’ll certainly welcome Vick to campus.

“I miss Nelson, and we wished that he would have continued in Columbus,” Tucker said. “There might not be a more mature student athlete in any sport.”