The Daily Tar Heel
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Friday, March 29, 2024 Newsletters Latest print issue

We keep you informed.

Help us keep going. Donate Today.
The Daily Tar Heel

Esben Hess-Olesen leads Tar Heels to 4-1 win against Mississippi State and Sweet 16 berth

Esben Hess-Olesen has faced his share of obstacles in his college career. 

After bolstering a 22-12 singles record in 2012-13 as a sophomore, a mark that placed him 46th in the ITA singles rankings, the sky looked to be the limit for the Denmark native.  

But a series of back injuries sidelined Hess-Olesen, now a senior, for the majority of the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Coming into the Tar Heels' match with Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday, he had only competed in seven singles matches in his senior year. 

So when Coach Sam Paul asked Hess-Olesen to play at the No. 6 singles position Saturday, there was no hesitation in the senior's response. This is something he had been working towards for a long time.

"It was kind of the plan after the ACC Tournament (to have me play). We were kind of building up towards this," Hess-Olesen said. "We knew yesterday … we'd rest me for singles, and I got after it today, and it was pretty successful." 

The wait paid off for Hess-Olesen, as he claimed a straight-sets win against Julian Cash at No. 6, clinching a 4-1 victory for UNC against the Bulldogs.  

As the match began, the Tar Heels knew they would have their hands full with Mississippi State's doubles pairs, who just the day before outlasted Denver for a point which took one hour and 15 minutes to capture. 

UNC was able to take the doubles point with victories on court one — where Hess-Olesen and Brayden Schnur earned an 8-6 win against Cash and Florian Lakat — and court two, setting up a situation where North Carolina would only need three singles wins to clinch the match. 

In singles play, freshman Robert Kelly channelled the Tar Heels doubles momentum into a straight-sets victory against Tassilo Schmid to push the lead to 2-0. 

Kelly, who has been a steady contributor in singles in 2015, credited his success to the team's veteran leaders, including Hess-Olesen. 

"When you see the guys doing the right things around you, you go ahead and follow their lead, and as you can see it worked out today," he said. "To see (Hess-Olesen) be able to clinch today with this being his last time on these home courts, (I know) he's going to do a lot of special things in the future."

As the match score moved to 3-1 in favor of the Tar Heels, many fans began to move to court six, where Hess-Olesen had a second-set lead. 

The senior would fall behind 0-30 in the last game, but rallied back much like he had his whole career — from deficits and from injury. 

Hess-Olesen would finish off Cash with a forehand winner that clinched the match. The Tar Heels had won, and Hess-Olesen was the reason. To him, it almost seemed unreal. 

"I told myself from the beginning of the season … I kept telling myself if I just keep working and if I end up in this scenario that I wasn't going to remember the rest of the season," he said. "It's such a relief being able to look at my last match and feel like I really stepped up.

"I couldn't have created a better dream."

To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.