When graduate student Ryan Seggerman was first recruited by UNC men's tennis coach Sam Paul, neither of them imagined that it would take four years for Seggerman to make his debut as a Tar Heel.
Paul, who is not one to commonly use the transfer portal, decided to make an exception for Seggerman. The UNC tennis program had initially courted the top-15 recruit when he was in high school over four years ago, but Seggerman opted to commit to Princeton University instead.
Now, everything has come full circle.
Seggerman, who is a recent graduate of Princeton, made the decision last winter to transfer to UNC to play in his fifth season. In the Ivy League, players cannot compete as athletes beyond their four years of undergraduate study — so Seggerman had to enter the portal if he wanted to keep playing.
“The fifth year was a silver lining of COVID,” Seggerman said. “I wanted to use (the fifth year) to play for a school that, one, was of good academic caliber, and two, (a school) that was pushing for some higher goals.”
With recent success in doubles play at ITA events, the former two-time All-Ivy League doubles competitor has already begun to work his way toward those higher goals at UNC.
On Oct. 5, at the ITA All-American Championships, Seggerman was paired with fellow graduate student Brian Cernoch, a returning three-time All-American.
It was not always Paul’s intention to pair the two graduate students up for doubles play, but rather, it was something that developed as the season pressed on.
Cernoch has been a top player for the Tar Heels just as Seggerman was for Princeton last season. Paul knew they were both talented players with invaluable experience, so he put them together.
