It took 24 years, but UNC men’s tennis head coach Sam Paul became the school’s all-time coaching wins leader after the Tar Heels earned a pair of blowout victories over UT Chattanooga (6-0) and The Citadel (7-0) on Sunday.

Now with 420 career wins, Paul moved ahead of former Virginia head coach Brian Boland for second on the ACC’s all-time list as well.

However, it was win No. 419 that seemed to mean the most to him–as that’s the one that moved him past former UNC head coach Don Skakle (1959-1980) for first on the Tar Heel list.

“Coach Skakle was incredible,” Paul told GoHeels.com.  “To even be coaching at the same university is an honor – he’s a legend. I just want to say thank you to the players who have been here over the last 24 years. I’ve never won a match here – it’s the players.”

Sunday’s victories also improved this year’s UNC team to 5-0, as it looks to repeat what was one of the best seasons in program history a year ago.

The Tar Heels earned their first ever No. 1 ranking and took home the Indoor National Championship last season, while also advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals in outdoor competition just months later.

They’ll try to earn another berth to the ITA National Team Indoors next weekend–facing off with Notre Dame on Friday with the winner taking on either Penn State or Vanderbilt the next day with a spot in the tournament on the line.

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