The Daily Tar Heel
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Thursday, March 28, 2024 Newsletters Latest print issue

We keep you informed.

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

UNC men's tennis squanders lead against Virginia in ACC Tournament semifinals

Sophomore Robert Kelly sits in isolation after losing 7-5 in a vital tiebreaker in the third set of his singles match. The UNC men's tennis team lost 4-3 to the University of Virginia in the AC semi-finals on Saturday.
Sophomore Robert Kelly sits in isolation after losing 7-5 in a vital tiebreaker in the third set of his singles match. The UNC men's tennis team lost 4-3 to the University of Virginia in the AC semi-finals on Saturday.

Looking to turn late-season momentum into a conference championship, the No. 3 North Carolina men’s tennis team swept No. 30 Georgia Tech before blowing a 3-0 lead against No. 1 Virginia in a 4-3 loss in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

With an opening matchup against the Yellow Jackets (16-8, 8-4 ACC) — a team the Tar Heels (25-4, 9-3 ACC) had beaten only a week before — UNC felt confident it could defeat Georgia Tech again.

The Tar Heels started strong with a win by senior Brett Clark and sophomore Robert Kelly, clinching the doubles point behind a victory from junior Ronnie Schneider and first-year Anu Kodali.

“We’d heard it from the coaches for a week. (Anu and I) played really well at Duke, so we continued that to start Georgia Tech,” Schneider said. “I think in the tiebreaker we did the same thing. We’re just hoping to keep that up until (Saturday) against a really good UVa. team.”

Following the match, Kelly said the team knew that despite its two victories over Virginia this season, the Cavaliers (24-3, 11-1 ACC) would be a difficult foe the following day.

“It is tough to beat a team three times in a season,” he said. “They are definitely going to be up for it. We’re ready, and they’re ready.

“It is going to come down to a couple of points here and there.”

And he was right.

The Tar Heels started the match Saturday as quickly as they had ended the one the night before. The third-ranked doubles team of Clark and Kelly stormed past the No. 2 duo of senior Ryan Shane and junior Luca Corinteli, helping UNC clinch the doubles point once again.

Brayden Schnur continued his team’s momentum with a 6-0, 6-4 singles win over Shane — the defending NCAA singles champion — for his third victory of the season over the Virginia standout.

Then, the rain began to fall.

After a delay of two hours and 40 minutes, it looked like the Tar Heels would keep their momentum going, as Schneider quickly finished his match in straight sets to take a 3-0 lead.

It felt like it was over.

But from that point on, everything UNC had worked for washed away.

“We had some good momentum; they are just tough,” junior Jack Murray said. “I mean, they came out and toughed through some of the closer matches today.”

The Cavaliers picked up their first point of the day when Corinteli defeated Kodali in straight sets. The final three matches went to a deciding third set — Clark dropped his set 6-3, and after Kelly fell in a tight tiebreaker to lose the set 7-6, Murray quickly followed with a 6-1 defeat.

And just like that, it was over.

@CPhillips2020

sports@dailytarheel.com

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