UNC men's tennis defeats Georgia 4-2, advances to Elite 8

Focus, execution and confidence — always important in tennis, but absolutely crucial in an NCAA tournament match against a top opponent playing at its home court.

Against the historically successful Georgia tennis program and its loud home crowd, the North Carolina men’s tennis team focused, executed and played confidently — and advanced to the Elite 8 for the first time in 22 years.

The Tar Heels defeated Georgia 4-2 in Athens, Ga., avenging a loss to the Bulldogs in the round of sixteen in 2012. UNC will face No. 2 Oklahoma Sunday at 4 p.m. in Athens in the quarterfinals.

“It was pretty incredible, that’s for sure,” freshman Ronnie Schneider said. “It was packed. There was always so much noise.”

Despite the noise, the Tar Heels prevailed across the board. The team won the doubles point, as well as four of the first six singles sets.

“I think we played well everywhere,” coach Sam Paul said.

UNC played fiercely in all three matches to earn the doubles point. Schneider and fellow freshman Jack Murray finished their set first, winning in a tiebreaker. Sophomore Brett Clark and freshman Brayden Schnur clinched the point with an 8-6 victory.

“We stuck with them the whole way,” Schnur said. “We didn’t let them get an early break or anything like that.”

The Tar Heels faced a rough patch in the singles round after junior Oystein Steiro and senior Nelson Vick went down in their matches, causing UNC to fall behind 2-1. 

But Schneider, Schnur, Murray and Clark continued to fight. Clark ultimately secured the winning point with his 37th singles victory, breaking UNC’s single season singles win record.

“He’s just been a rock solid player for us,” Schneider said of Clark.

Clark’s team supported his success with stellar performances of their own, especially from the three freshman.

Schneider won in his singles match, and Murray was leading going into the end of his second set.

Schnur, No. 15 in the NCAA, won his first and third sets, but lost his second against Georgia’s Austin Smith, who is ranked 23rd overall.

“I let off the gas a little bit in the second set, which is why (Smith) won,” Schnur said. “I just knew I had to execute. That was the bottom line.”

Schnur said he and his team successfully stayed focused on the court and did not allow the crowd to have an effect on them.

“We talked the week previously about needing to fight as hard as possible, to not let the crowd get to us, just stay focused on our court,” he said. “We knew we could win if we didn’t let the crowd get to us.”

The Tar Heels played the way Schnur said they knew they could — they focused and executed, and blocked out the distractions.

“We’re playing with great confidence,” Schneider said. “We like our chances.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com