One day. Two opponents. Two victories.
The North Carolina men’s tennis team kicked off its 2014 spring season on Friday by dominating a double-header with matches against East Carolina and Wofford.In the first match against the Pirates, the Tar Heels grabbed the lead early and never looked back.
The match was played under a new experimental format from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association — which essentially shortens matches using no-ad scoring and a tiebreaker at 5-all in each set. North Carolina coach Sam Paul played primarily underclassmen in the season-opening match.
The No. 1 doubles team facing the Pirates comprises sophomore Brett Clark and new-arrival freshman Brayden Schnur, while Ronnie Schneider and Jack Murray, both freshmen, took over at No. 2 doubles. The Clark-Schnur and Schneider-Murray combos both produced 6-2 victories.
Clark said he enjoyed playing with Schnur.
“I’m always a big fan of doubles,” he said. “In college, it’s more of a team sport.”
The singles matches were only more victories for the Tar Heels.
Schnur played No. 1 singles, pulling out a 6-3, 6-0 victory against 23rd-ranked Joran Vliegen.
From there, North Carolina won every singles match, with Murray putting the finishing touches on a perfect 7-0 match, by beating ECU’s Fredric Lehfeldt in a 6-4, 5-6 (4-7), 1-0 (11-9) tiebreak set that had everyone at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill watching.