After an impressive 2015 campaign, the North Carolina men’s tennis team looked to start 2016 strong with a pair of victories over Georgetown and North Carolina A&T.
And with a 6-0 win over the Hoyas and a 6-1 victory over the Aggies during Saturday's doubleheader at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, the ninth-ranked Tar Heels did just that.
UNC jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over Georgetown, as sophomore Robert Kelly and senior Brett Clark helped seize the doubles point with a 6-1 victory on Court No. 1.
The nation's top-ranked doubles tandem won both of its matches on Saturday, earning a 6-0 win over North Carolina A&T's Arun Chapero and Nicolas Ardur later in the day.
In singles, the Tar Heels increased their lead over the Hoyas to 3-0 with victories by Kelly and junior Jack Murray, meaning one more win would hand UNC its first victory of the season.
The most competitive match of the game — and perhaps the entire day — was between Schnur and Georgetown’s Dan Khanin.
The two opponents played to a 6-6 tie in the first set before Schnur defeated Khanin 7-0 in the tiebreaker. Schnur then clinched the match for the Tar Heels in the second set with a 6-3 win.
After beating Georgetown, UNC opened its match against North Carolina A&T by once again claiming the doubles point.
Clark pushed the Tar Heels' lead to 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 win in singles play. Murray picked up his second win of the day moments later before senior Stuart DePaolo sealed the victory with a 6-1, 6-0 win at Court No. 4.