He was seeded sixth in the tournament and had never taken the court as a member of the North Carolina men’s tennis team — with the No. 5 preseason freshman ranking, Ronnie Schneider knew the expectations were high.
But with a 4-0 singles finish in his draw of the UVa. Ranked 1 Invitational, Schneider proved his rankings weren’t a fluke.
“I thought it was a very good start to my college career here at UNC,” he said.
“Every match I played was a tough one, and I was very happy to be able to get through them.”
Associate head coach Tripp Phillips agreed.
“He really battled hard and played with a lot of heart and executed a lot of the things we have been working on in practice,” he said.
“I am very excited for him, and it’s great for the program.”
With his undefeated singles record on the weekend, Schneider won the White draw — one of four singles draws — at the tournament
Schneider faced Virginia Tech’s Amerigo Contini, last year’s ACC Freshman of the Year, in the finals of the tournament. After Schneider took the first set, No. 43 Contini won the second set after taking an early lead. Schneider captured the third set to win the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
