Make it four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Men’s Singles Tournament quarterfinals for UNC senior William Blumberg, as he made quick work of Kentucky’s Gabriel Diallo on Tuesday afternoon in Orlando.

The only 10-time All-American in ITA history, Blumberg needed less than an hour to take down the 14th-ranked Diallo in straight sets (6-3, 6-1).

The Greenwich, Connecticut native — like most seniors last season — was granted a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to make the most of it. Last season was the only time Blumberg didn’t reach the NCAA Singles quarterfinals, due to the tournament being canceled.

He is the only Tar Heel men’s tennis player to ever advance to four straight NCAA quarterfinals.

As a freshman in 2017, Blumberg made it to the NCAA championship match before ultimately falling to Virginia senior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski. He came up short in the quarterfinals in both 2018 and 2019, but now finds himself right back in a position to claim his first NCAA Singles title.

Next up for Blumberg is a quarterfinal clash on Wednesday against Baylor’s Adrian Boitan, who needed three sets to defeat San Diego’s August Holmgren by a score of 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

The other Tar Heel competing in singles competition on Tuesday, Australian sophomore Rinky Hijikata, saw his first NCAA Singles Tournament appearance come to an end with a three-set loss (6-2, 3-6, 6-1) to No. 4 ranked Val Vacherot of Texas A&M.

In the NCAA Team Championships held earlier this month, the Tar Heels advanced to the Round of 16 before ultimately falling to Georgia by a score of 4-3.

Head coach Sam Paul’s team put together an impressive 21-4 record in 2021 and joined the UNC women’s team in sweeping the ITA National Indoor Championships back in February.

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

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