UNC cruises in ?rst team action

The UNC men’s tennis team began its season with two dominant home victories against Presbyterian College and North Carolina Central University.

The doubleheader began in the afternoon with a 7-0 win over Presbyterian and was followed in the evening by a similar 7-0 sweep of the Eagles from North Carolina Central in what turned out to be a relatively smooth day of tennis for the Tar Heels.

The majority of the matches on Sunday were finished in straight sets.

UNC senior Clay Donato had two dominant single wins in straight sets and another two strong wins in doubles, where he and his partner Stefan Hardy have performed exceptionally well this season.

“It’s good to play a couple of easier matches before we play our bigger matches,” Donato said. “Tonight, we played to our potential, and that is what we were expecting.”

Donato’s day ended the same way it began.

He and Hardy crushed Presbyterian’s Matthew Martin and Ivan Ho in Donato’s first match of the day, and he closed out North Carolina Central’s Jack Waissen 6-2, 6-0 in his fourth and final time on the court.

The match was a tune-up for UNC, who looks this season to achieve similar success as it had last year, when the Tar Heels advanced to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.

“I think we should do a whole lot better this season,” Donato said.

 “We have a stacked team with tremendous potential.

“I believe that this is the best team I’ve seen in my four years playing here, and that’s saying something, as we made it to the final four when I was a sophomore.”

After the match, Donato was pleased with the impressive performance and hopes that it will set a positive tone for the rest of the tennis season.

Donato will lead the No. 28 Tar Heels this season alongside senior captain Andrew Crone.

Donato, who was named to the ACC all-conference squad and the All-America squad last season, said he will strive for the same accolades this year.

In his junior year, he finished the season in the top 20 in singles and advanced to the semifinals of the men’s singles draw at the NCAA tournament. He already has a goal in mind this season.

“It’s obvious, a win in the championship,” Donato said.

Although NCCU and Presbyterian didn’t put up much of a fight, UNC will have tough matches this season. They face off against several ranked foes, including rival Virginia, who in the NCAA tournament last season sent the Tar Heels home.


Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.