His Tar Heels may not have come out on top in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Final against Virginia, but freshman sensation William Blumberg certainly left a large impression on those who saw him play.

The ITA’s National Rookie of the Year was selected as the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player on Wednesday–despite playing for the losing side.

A native of Greenwich, Connecticut, Blumberg ended the season with a 20-match win streak and a 26-2 overall record in singles competition.

He was also one of two Tar Heels–along with Robert Kelly–to pick up a win against Virginia in the NCAA Final.

“It speaks volumes about what he did in this tournament in singles and in doubles,” UNC head coach Sam Paul said. “It’s really rare that a player on the runner-up team would receive that award. And for as tremendous of a player as he is, he’s even more of an outstanding person. He’s just incredible.”

Blumberg was also the only UNC men’s player to make it out of the First Round in the NCAA Singles Tournament, which began on Wednesday.

Teammate Ronnie Schneider was upset by California’s Florian Lakat (4-6, 3-6), but Blumberg was able to pull out a three-set victory (6-3, 1-6, 6-3) over Ohio State freshman J.J. Wolf.

The super-freshman will continue his tournament runs–both in singles and doubles–on Thursday.

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