Looking to turn late-season momentum into a conference championship, the No. 3 North Carolina men’s tennis team swept No. 30 Georgia Tech before blowing a 3-0 lead against No. 1 Virginia in a 4-3 loss in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
With an opening matchup against the Yellow Jackets (16-8, 8-4 ACC) — a team the Tar Heels (25-4, 9-3 ACC) had beaten only a week before — UNC felt confident it could defeat Georgia Tech again.
The Tar Heels started strong with a win by senior Brett Clark and sophomore Robert Kelly, clinching the doubles point behind a victory from junior Ronnie Schneider and first-year Anu Kodali.
“We’d heard it from the coaches for a week. (Anu and I) played really well at Duke, so we continued that to start Georgia Tech,” Schneider said. “I think in the tiebreaker we did the same thing. We’re just hoping to keep that up until (Saturday) against a really good UVa. team.”
Following the match, Kelly said the team knew that despite its two victories over Virginia this season, the Cavaliers (24-3, 11-1 ACC) would be a difficult foe the following day.
“It is tough to beat a team three times in a season,” he said. “They are definitely going to be up for it. We’re ready, and they’re ready.
“It is going to come down to a couple of points here and there.”
And he was right.