The UNC men’s tennis team isn’t ready to go home just yet.

Continuing the best season in program history, the No. 2 Tar Heels defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-0 in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 on Friday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Now halfway home in their quest for the outdoor national championship–after winning the indoor title in February–UNC (28-4) also set a new school record with its 28th win.

It was also the third straight 4-0 win for the Tar Heels during the tournament, as they have yet to drop a single team point on their way to the quarterfinals.

Mississippi State (18-9) was able to win one of the three doubles sets, and even forced UNC’s team of Brayden Schnur and Jack Murray into a tiebreak.

The Tar Heels prevailed, however, and went on to cruise to a trio of straight-set victories in the singles portion of the event.

Brayden Schnur played a role in two of UNC's four team points on Friday. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Brayden Schnur played a role in two of UNC’s four team points on Friday. (Jeffrey A. Camarati/ UNC Athletics)

Schnur, UNC’s top ranked player at No. 26 in the country, was the first to finish–getting a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 34 Mate Catura.

Soon after, No. 46 Brett Clark defeated No. 70 Nuno Borges 6-4, 6-4 for his 116th career singles victory as a Tar Heel.

Jack Murray then locked up UNC’s third consecutive trip to the NCAA quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Niclas Braun.

It was quite the response by a Tar Heel squad which saw their women’s counterparts–also among the favorites to bring home a championship–prematurely sent home on Thursday.

Up Next:

UNC returns to action on Sunday, May 22–facing off against the winner of USC and Georgia at 5 p.m.

Match Notes:

  • Schnur’s win over Catura was his seventh victory over a ranked opponent this season, second on UNC behind Ronnie Schneider’s nine such wins.
  • Robert Kelly, who has a 36-7 singles record for UNC this year, was not in the singles lineup Friday.

 

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