The North Carolina men’s tennis team came into the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament looking to not only secure a spot in the National Team Indoors, but also stake its claim as one of the top teams in the country.
After easily dispatching Indiana (0-2) on Saturday, the No. 10 Tar Heels entered the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center on Sunday for a heated matchup against in-state rival N.C. State.
But against the Wolfpack (4-1), senior Brett Clark and sophomore Robert Kelly showed why they are the top-ranked doubles team in the country, earning a dominant 6-0 win to set the tone for UNC (4-0).
“We were so dialed in,” Kelly said. “We were so ready to go that we don’t really care who’s on the other side of the net.”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however. Junior Ronnie Schneider — who helped clinch the doubles point for the Tar Heels — fell 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 2 position to open singles play, while junior Brayden Schnur dropped his singles match 6-3, 6-4 from the No. 1 spot.
But UNC had a statement to make.
Kelly and Clark regained their team’s advantage over N.C. State with two straight-set singles wins. And following Schnur’s loss, the stage was set for first-year Anudeep Kodali to settle the score.
In only the third completed match of his collegiate career, Kodali battled back from a 6-2 first-set loss to claim the final two sets, clinching the match for the Tar Heels.
“I didn’t get down on myself because I didn’t think he was outplaying me,” Kodali said. “I was just playing bad tennis on my end.”
