In search of the program’s first ever national championship, the ninth-ranked UNC men’s tennis team couldn’t quite get the job done in Tuesday’s NCAA Championship Match against the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers.
Forced indoors in Athens, Georgia thanks to inclement weather, Virginia defeated the Tar Heels by a team score of 4-2 on the way to its third straight national championship–and fourth in the last five years.
For UNC (29-5), it was the team’s fourth loss in as many tries against the Cavaliers this season.
Virginia opened the match by taking the doubles point, which was the first time all tournament the Tar Heels failed to do so.
Limited to just four courts at the indoor facility, the six singles matches were unable to go on simultaneously as they normally would if the match was held outside.
The result was a suspenseful finish set up after the teams split the first four singles contests–with UNC getting wins from William Blumberg and Robert Kelly.
Trailing 3-2 in the team score, UNC needed wins from both Jack Murray and Blaine Boyden in order to win the title.
The unusual setup meant they’d also each have to win with the crowd’s eyes focused strictly on the two of them.
Virginia–thanks to winning the all-important doubles point earlier in the match–only had to take one of the two matches from either Murray or Boyden to clinch the title.
The Cavaliers would then do just that, as J.C. Aragone put the finishing touches on a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Murray–ruining UNC’s dreams just as they had a real shot at becoming reality.
Although, the ending didn’t quite go as planned, the loss capped an incredible season for the Tar Heels–one that saw them break the school’s all-time single season wins record and reach the program’s first ever Final Four.
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