It started in pregame warm-ups.
Grunt after grunt, stride after stride, senior Ronnie Schneider was ready to face both Boston College and Notre Dame over the holiday weekend.
But this weekend was special. Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Fighting Irish came on senior day for the North Carolina men's tennis team — and Schneider’s home career at UNC was coming to an end.
“Ronnie has always been a leader,” head coach Sam Paul said. “Since day one, Ronnie’s work ethic and desire to compete have always set an example.”
Perhaps it was best shown in UNC's 7-0 win over the Eagles on Friday, when Schneider struggled early in the first set of his singles match. The senior was down 2-1 in the first set at Court 1. All eyes were on him.
But Schneider, who had over 150 matches under his belt, used his experience to maintain composure. He took a seat on the empty North Carolina bench, drank some water and wiped the sweat from his face — revealing a look of passion and determination that the senior from Bloomington, Ind., showed all year long.
He was going to win.
“Going down a break, 2-1, in the first set was no reason to panic,” Schneider said. “I just had to believe in my game.”
Schneider won 11 of his next 12 games — including five straight after the early deficit — to beat his singles opponent, 6-2, 6-1. Each powerful serve and lively grunt showed the UNC crowd how far the senior had come. His serve, for one, had vastly improved since the start of his senior year.