Someone had to step up, both in the match and for the North Carolina men's tennis team.
After winning in his doubles match, sophomore William Blumberg was slightly injured. And now, No. 3 UNC had to find a replacement for Blumberg, the No. 2-ranked singles player in the country, for his upcoming match.
Head coach Sam Paul surveyed his young team and he chose first-year Benjamin Sigouin, the top-ranked recruit from the class of 2017, to sub onto Court One at the last minute.
“I didn’t know I was playing one until after doubles today,” Sigouin said. “After his doubles match, Will told me he couldn’t go, so I got the chance. I tried to do the best I could.”
Although he came to UNC as the No. 4 player in the ITF World Junior rankings, a six-time Canadian National Champion and a 2016 French Open singles quarterfinalist, the thought of playing on Court One brought on additional pressure that was different from those past accolades.
“Yeah a bit (of pressure), that’s for sure,” he said. “It wasn’t bad to find out right before because if I found out earlier in the day, I would’ve been thinking about it more.”
“I just went out there not thinking much, just played my game and executed what I had to do.”
As a Canadian native, the player nicknamed ‘Big Ben' by his teammates brings something different to the court. In Canada, tennis is not as much of a team sport, but in the United States, college players thrive off the energy from their team as well as from fans.