The No. 7 North Carolina men's tennis team traveled to Champaign, Ill., on Saturday, and earned a 5-2 victory over No. 17 Illinois in the team’s first road match of the spring.
What happened?
The Tar Heels (8-0) made quick work of the Illini (2-2) during the doubles point.
First-year William Blumberg paired with junior Robert Kelly to earn a 6-3 win on Court 1. Shortly after, seniors Jack Murray and Ronnie Schneider put UNC up 1-0 with a 6-4 win.
What looked to be smooth sailing for North Carolina turned into quite the battle, however.
Illinois won four of the six first sets in singles, with the Tar Heels only winning theothers, 7-6. The Illini’s Aleks Vukic took the first singles point over Blumberg with a win in straight sets.
First-year Simon Soendergaard also lost in two sets, and UNC found itself down, 2-1.
Kelly was there to save the day, however. He glided through his second set, 6-1, and made tied the match at 2-2.
This shifted the momentum back in North Carolina’s favor, and it capitalized.