As sophomore, Ronnie Schneider said, it’s nice to get back to winning ways.
After a rough spell of matches the last two weekends, the No. 19 North Carolina men’s tennis team came back as strong as Schneider’s forehand in Saturday's doubleheader against No. 33 Minnesota (8-4) and The Citadel (2-14). The Tar Heels improved to 11-5 on the season with a 4-1 win against the Gophers and a 7-0 sweep of the Bulldogs.
Every player who competed contributed at least one win throughout the day for an all-around solid team performance at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. UNC only lost one match on the day due to sophomore Brayden Schnur’s injury, which forced him to retire early when down 6-2, 1-1 during singles play.
Although everyone played their part on Saturday, the small evening crowd was drawn to court No. 1 against the Citadel and the sound of Schneider’s booming forehand. With Schnur — typically UNC's No. 1 player — out, Schneider took over the top slot. Whether returning a serve down the line so fast his opponent could barely blink or ripping a forehand cross court to leave his outstretched opponent helpless to end a rally, Schneider was relentless with his go-to shot.
“My goal is to find a way to play through my forehand,” Schneider said. “If I get an opportunity to set up my forehand, I can really dictate and push people around the court. I think I play my best when I’m all over the court, hitting my forehand from both sides. I thought I did a really good job today of using my forehand as a weapon.”
The crowd seemed stunned by Schneider's abilities throughout his singles and doubles matches. The 5-foot-9 inch heavy hitter left many fans shaking their heads in disbelief at some of his seemingly effortless shots. Sophomore Jack Murray — also Schneider’s doubles partner — is no stranger to his teammate’s forehand considering they’ve played against each other since they were 11 years old in tournaments around the Midwest.
“(Ronnie) made a huge jump in his game when he was about 15,” said Murray of Schneider’s forehand. “He really hit the ball amazing off that side and he never looked back after that.”
Schneider’s favorite shot isn’t just the key to his personal success on the court. Murray thinks it’s a tool that benefits everyone on the team during practices as well.
“He’s one of the best players in the country,” Murray said. “Knowing you have a guy like that on your team to practice with, obviously it’s a huge help. Being able to hit with him gets you so much better and hopefully it helps promote really good growth for the team.”
