CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Fresh off winning the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Championship, the William & Mary men's tennis team fell in the first round of the NCAA Championship to host and No. 13 North Carolina, 4-0, on Friday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. After the contest was delayed nearly an hour and a half with the opening-match of the regional going the nail-biting distance, the Tar Heels won the doubles point and then received singles victories from three of its four All-ACC selections at three of the top four positions.
In doubles, UNC jumped out to commanding leads at all three positions. At the top spot, the Tribe's All-CAA pair of seniors
Aaron Chaffee and
Will Juggins rallied back from an early deficit but could not overcome the Tar Heel duo of Esben Hess-Olesen and Brayden Schnurr, falling 8-5. The No. 45-ranked North Carolina team of Brett Clark and Robert Kelly clinched the doubles point with an 8-4 win over sophomore
Addison Appleby and freshman
Lars de Boer at No. 2.
Tar Heel All-ACC selections Jack Murray and Brett Clark both picked up straight set singles wins to push the lead to 3-0. Murray, a Third-Team All-ACC selection, notched his 30th win of the year over sophomore
Damon Niquet, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 4, while Clark, who is ranked No. 73 nationally and was an All-ACC second team choice, downed Appleby, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3.
Despite the 3-0 hole, the Tribe battled back a number of spots. At No. 5 after dropping the first set, 6-0, de Boer won three straight games to pull out the second set, 6-2, from UNC's Robert Kelly, who entered the match at 31-6 overall and 11-1 at No. 5.
Juggins and freshman
Alec Miller both dropped close first sets before starting their second sets in strong fashion. Juggins battled back and forth with No. 28-ranked Ronnie Schneider, who was a First Team All-ACC pick and an NCAA Singles Championship selection. The nationally-ranked Tar Heel held on for a 6-4 win in the first set, but the Tribe senior jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the second. At No. 6, Miller led 3-0 in the opening set, but the Tar Heel's Stuart DePaolo came back to pull out a 6-4 victory. The Tribe rookie won the opening two games of the second set.
North Carolina put the match away with a victory at the No. 1 position thanks to First Team All-ACC and No. 11-ranked Brayden Schnur. After winning the opening set, 6-1, Schnur led 5-2 in the second over CAA Rookie of the Year
Christian Cargill, but the Tribe freshman would not go away quietly. He won three-straight games to pull even in the second set at five. Schnur, who is seeded in the upcoming NCAA Singles Champinship, held on though by winning the final two games in clinch the Tar Heel victory.
North Carolina advanced to Saturday's second round where it will face No. 20 Mississippi State, who defeated Summit League Champion Denver in narrow 4-3 fashion earlier on Friday. The winner of the UNC-MSU match-up, which is set for 3 p.m., will advance to the NCAA Round of 16 in Waco, Texas, beginning May 14.
The Tribe closed the season at 16-13, its 11th season of 15 or more wins under head coach
Peter Daub. W&M won its fourth CAA title and garnered a spot in the NCAA Championship for the 11th time in school history. The future looks bright for the Green and Gold as the majority of W&M's CAA and NCAA lineup was comprised of freshmen and sophomores, including five of its six singles positions.
#13 North Carolina 4, William and Mary 0Singles
No. 2 - #28 Ronnie Schneider (UNC) vs.
Will Juggins (W&M) – DNF, 6-4, 3-2
No. 4 – Jack Murray (UNC) def.
Damon Niquet (W&M) – 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 – Robert Kelly (UNC) vs.
Lars de Boer (W&M) – DNF, 6-0, 2-6, 1-0
No. 6 – Stuart DePaolo (UNC) vs.
Alec Miller (W&M) – DNF, 6-4, 1-2
Finishing Order: 4, 3, 1*
Doubles
No. 1 – Hess-Olesen/Schnur (UNC) def. Chaffee/Juggins (W&M) – 8-5
No. 2 - #45 Clark/Kelly (UNC) def. Appleby/de Boer (W&M) – 8-4
No. 3 – Murray/Schneider (UNC) vs. Cargill/Niquet (W&M) – DNF, 7-4
Finishing Order: 1, 2*
