After a strong finish in spring 2021, the UNC men’s tennis team will begin its season Friday with a roster composed of impressive first-year talent and key returning seniors.
The team finished the 2021 season ranked No. 6 in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. UNC ranked ahead of all other ACC teams.
The Tar Heels will look toward the NCAA championships this spring, but they have a long road ahead to prepare. The team’s fall schedule includes nine multi-day tournaments with stops at Arkansas, Florida State, Elon and Vanderbilt. The last tournament of the fall is set for the first week of November, hosted at the home territory of Wake Forest.
To kick off the season, the Tar Heels will play in the Duke Invitational in Cary.
The team will add two new players to the roster, first-years Casey Kania and Chris Li.
Li, a native of Lima, Peru, worked his way up to the No. 1 ranking in South America by the age of 15. Li has also proven his success in the United States, winning his first International Tennis Federation event in Santa Cruz, Calif., in 2020 before the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Kania also brings impressive talent. The Connecticut native attended Cheshire Academy in Middlefield, where he was named a National High School All-American by the National High School Tennis Foundation.
While new talents will look to make their mark on the program, the team also features returning players with strong track records. The lineup this year will include three seniors and three juniors.
Extended NCAA eligibility rules due to COVID-19 will bring further experience the to lineup this season, as seniors return to take advantage of their extra eligibility. Fifth-year senior Benjamin Sigouin was ranked No. 41 in ITA preseason singles rankings, while senior Brian Cernoch — a two-time All-American — was also recognized as an important player to watch, ranking No. 44 on the ITA’s preseason singles list.
