“I think we validated that for sure,” Schneider said Sunday. “It’s pretty clear that we can be a force when we have everyone out there, and we’ve been able to solidify our doubles game, and our singles guys have looked good with everybody playing where they’re comfortable.”
The weekend road trip was business as usual for the 15th-ranked Tar Heels (19-9, 8-4 ACC) as they closed out the regular season with a 5-2 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-11, 4-8 ACC) Friday and a 4-3 win over the No. 72 Clemson Tigers (11-15, 2-10 ACC) on Sunday.
With its two wins this weekend, UNC enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face Boston College on Thursday.
“It was a very good effort,” said junior Brett Clark, who won both of his singles matches this weekend. “Road wins are always tough to come by in the ACC, but we had some guys step up, and we closed out the season the right way. And have a lot of confidence going into the postseason.”
While it was a long season that was plagued by injuries, the Tar Heels are entering the postseason healthier than any point in the regular season.
“We’re really excited for ACC and NCAA play because we know we’re going into it with a strong lineup,” Clark said. “It’s huge to have Brayden (Schnur) back at No. 1, but we’re also getting bigger at doubles since he and Esben (Hess-Olesen) have been playing together again.”
In both matches, the Tar Heels won the opening doubles point and got off to fast starts in singles play in order to take control, something the Tar Heels have stressed after dropping some matches earlier in the season as result of sluggish starts.
“It’s really been huge for us these last few matches,” Clark said. “Getting off to a fast start gives us a lot of momentum. It keeps the opposing crowd out of the match, and it can put a lot of pressure on our opponents when we get an early lead because they have a lot less room for error.”
