UNC Duo on a Roll as NCAAs Near

North Carolina men's tennis coach Sam Paul has found it in the team's

No. 2 doubles duo of sophomore Nick Monroe and freshman Daniel Pinchbeck.

Since dropping their first match as a pair on April 6 against Florida State, Pinchbeck and Monroe have reeled off six straight doubles wins, including three at last weekend's ACC championships.

"That was a key for the tournament," Paul said. "The doubles play really picked up. They've just learned, and their personalities clicked."

After two 8-6 wins to start the tournament, Pinchbeck and Monroe breezed by Georgia Tech on Sunday, 8-3. The Tar Heels took the championship match 4-3 to win their first ACC title in 12 years.

"Daniel and I are a good combination," Monroe said. "We move well, and we return well. We feel like we can break our opponents every time they serve."

Pinchbeck said he and Monroe have similar styles. He said they both come to the net often and use their speed to stay ahead of their opponents.

"The only match we've lost was the first match because we weren't used to playing," Pinchbeck said. "But we've worked hard on our doubles and knuckled down."

The pair has been just as hot in singles competition.

Now playing at No. 3, Pinchbeck finished the regular season at 20-4 and has not lost since dropping a tight match in late March against Brown.

"I've been playing well all year," Pinchbeck said. "I went through a bad patch in the middle of the season where I lost a couple."

Pinchbeck got a scare Saturday, losing his first set 2-6 to Wake Forest's Derrick Spice before taking the next two 6-2, 6-3.

"(Saturday) I played the best player I've played in the ACC," Pinchbeck said. "He came out firing, and I just knuckled down and got the job done."

Monroe entered Sunday's championship match against the Yellow Jackets on a nine-match win streak.

"We made some adjustments with Nick after the (first) Georgia Tech match," Paul said. "That was where Nick hit rock bottom confidence-wise. He learned a lot from that match."

But Monroe lost 6-2, 7-5 to Tech's Scott Schnugg, the same player to whom he lost before beginning his singles streak.

"He took it to me early," Monroe said. "I got a little frustrated and tried to pull it back together but couldn't come up with the win."

With a championship behind he and the team, Monroe said he expects the Tar Heels to have a strong NCAA tourney.

"I've been playing some good tennis as of late," Monroe said. "Everyone on the team is playing their best tennis. But we're going to bring all we have."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports @unc.edu.