Brayden Schnur’s return halts Tar Heels’ slide

It almost happened a week ago, when the North Carolina men’s tennis team was scheduled to battle Virginia Tech — but Brayden Schnur was a late scratch. This time, Coach Sam Paul kept Schnur in the lineup and on the court.

“I think this is exactly what the doctor ordered,” said sophomore Ronnie Schneider. “It was really nice to see Brayden back on the court.”

After not playing since Feb. 28 due to a lower body injury, the No. 12 sophomore returned to the court and looked as dominant as ever in his 6-2, 6-0 victory over Boston College’s Philip Nelson.

“It felt pretty good to get back out there,” Schnur said. “I’ve been practicing for the past two weeks, and I was hoping to get back on the court last week, but coach said it was a bit too early. But I’m happy to be playing again.”

Schnur’s teammates followed his lead as the No. 19 Tar Heels (16-8, 5-3 ACC) cruised to a 7-0 win over Boston College (7-13, 0-8 ACC).

“We had a good week of practice, and it was nice to have Brayden back out there, and he played pretty well,” Paul said.

Schnur, despite some early jitters, agreed with his coach’s assessment.

“I was a little nervous at first, but I settled down,” Schnur said. “I handled my opponent well, did the right things — I played my game and got off the court as fast as possible.”

As the Tar Heels found out that Friday would be the day Schnur returned to the court, No. 24 Schneider admitted the team felt an added boost going into the match.

“I think there was a little extra positive energy in the locker room before the match,” Schneider said. “Brayden is obviously so good, and he’s been our rock at No. 1 singles for our team whenever he’s been healthy, so it’s really nice to have him back.”

While the Tar Heels were heavy favorites against Boston College, they faced a much tougher challenge in No. 35 Notre Dame (12-9, 4-5 ACC) on Sunday. Even though Schnur was unable to come out on top in three sets against No. 17 Quentin Monaghan, UNC was still able to come away with a 5-2 victory.

At No. 2 singles, Schneider sealed the victory with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Notre Dame’s Josh Hagar.

“It was really nice to go back to Court 2 — it felt more like home,” said Schneider. “Even though Brayden lost, we become a much deeper team with him in the lineup because everyone can go back to their normal spots in the lineup.”

As the Tar Heels continue to get healthier, they are excited to have their best lineup going into the home stretch of the season.

“Whenever we put guys on the court, they’re playing well, but we just have to get our top six guys healthy and hopefully we can have everybody playing their best tennis as we gear up for the ACC and NCAA tournament,” Schneider said.

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