It’s on to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the No. 3 UNC men’s tennis team.
The Tar Heels continued their march toward the National Championship on Sunday, becoming one of 16 teams left standing after their 4-0 victory over the Tulane Green Wave in the second round of the NCAA Team Tournament.
Despite a tough challenge from Tulane, which has the nation’s No. 3 ranked player, Dominik Koepfer, UNC’s depth ultimately provided the difference at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center–improving the Tar Heels’ record to 27-4 this season.
Tulane finishes its season with a mark of 16-9.
The Tar Heel duo of Robert Kelly and Brett Clark–the country’s No. 3 doubles team–defeated Koepfer and his teammate, Chi-Shan Jao, 6-4 to clinch the doubles point for UNC.
Anu Kodali, a freshman, played a part in two of UNC’s four team points against Tulane. (Jeffrey A. Camarati)
By that time, Anu Kodali and Ronnie Schneider had already dispatched of Tulane’s Sebastian Rey and Ian Van Cott, finishing their doubles match with a 6-2 win–putting Kelly and Clark in position to put the Tar Heels on the board first.
Tulane, however, with Koepfer and Constantin Schmitz–ranked 99th in the nation–forced UNC’s Schneider and Brayden Schnur–each among the country’s top 30 players–into tight competition in the singles portion of the event.
Typically in singles competition the Tar Heels rely on Schnur and Schneider as two “guaranteed” points.
That’s where the depth came into play, as three other UNC players were able to finish off wins in their matches before the top-ranked foes could finish theirs .
Kodali was the first to pick up an individual win, defeating Tyler Schick 6-1, 6-2 to put the Tar Heels up 2-0–while Clark (6-1, 6-4) and Kelly (7-6, 6-0) finished up wins soon after to seal the team victory.
Up Next:
The Tar Heels now willl head to Tulsa–where they’ll face the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Friday, May 20 at 5:00 p.m.
Match Notes:
- At the conclusion of the match Schnur was about to begin his 3rd set with Koepfer, with the score 4-6, 6-3.
- Schneider and Schmitz were still in the second set, with Schneider ahead 7-6, 3-3.
FINAL STATS
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