2021 Men's Tennis Record Book
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2021 Men’s Tennis Record Book 2021 Schedule Date Opponent Site Time Jan. 10-12 Tar Heel Invitational Chapel Hill All Day Jan. 16-18 ACC Challenge Chapel Hill All Day ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND Jan. 24 Duke vs. South Carolina Chapel Hill 10 a.m. UNC vs. Northwestern Chapel Hill 2 p.m. Jan. 25 Consolation Chapel Hill 10 a.m. Championship Chapel Hill 2 p.m. Fast Facts Jan. 31 Virginia Tech Chapel Hill 1 p.m. The University of North Carolina Location: Chapel Hill, N.C. Chartered: 1789 ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Enrollment: 18,814 undergraduate Kevin Guskiewicz Feb. 12 Quarterfinal Champaign, Ill. TBA Chancellor: Director of Athletics: Bubba Cunningham Feb. 13 Semifinal Champaign, Ill. TBA Affiliation:NCAA Division I Feb. 14 Final Champaign, Ill. TBA Conference: Atlantic Coast Nickname: Tar Heels Feb. 26 at Clemson* Clemson, S.C. 2:30 p.m. Mascot: Rameses the ram Feb. 28 at Georgia Tech* Atlanta, Ga. Noon School colors: Carolina blue and white March 5 at Louisville* Louisville, Ky. 2 p.m. Athletic department web site: GoHeels.com March 7 at Notre Dame* Notre Dame, Ind. Noon March 12 Boston College* Chapel Hill 1 p.m. Carolina Men’s Tennis March 17 Duke* Chapel Hill 3 p.m. Head Coach: Sam Paul (Presbyterian, ’83), 28th year as head coach 502-209 in 27 years (entering 2021) March 21 at South Carolina Columbia, S.C. Noon Record at UNC and overall: Office phone:(919) 962-6060 March 26 at Virginia Tech* Blacksburg, Va. Noon Associate Head Coach: Tripp Phillips (UNC, ’00), 16th year on staff March 28 at Virginia* Charlottesville, Va. Noon Office phone: (919) 962-6161 April 2 at NC State Raleigh, N.C. 1 p.m. Tennis Center Administrative Assistant: Andrew Parker April 9 Wake Forest* Chapel Hill 3 p.m. Tennis Center Phone: (919) 962-6363 April 11 NC State* Chapel Hill 1 p.m. Tennis Center Fax: (919) 962-2604 April 16 Miami* Chapel Hill 3 p.m. Administrative Assistant: Shelly Streett April 17 Florida State* Chapel Hill 2 p.m. Steet Phone: (919) 962-5220 P.O. Box 2126, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 *Indicates ACC regular season match Mailing address: Home facility: Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center Courts: Hard courts, 12 outdoor, 6 indoor 2021 ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS Outdoor seating capacity: 2,000 April 23-25 in Rome, Ga. 2020 Record: 12-1 overall, 2-0 ACC, ranked #2 in ITA poll when season canceled due to Covid-19 pandemic. 2021 NCAA TOURNAMENT 2019 ACC Finish: Third place, semifinalist in tournament TBA 2019 National Finish: NCAA semifinals, No. 7 in final ITA Ranking 2021 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS UNC Athletic Communications May 20-29 in Orlando, Fla. Associate Director/Men’s tennis contact: Matt Bowers Email address: [email protected] Mobile Phone: (919) 619-7021 Mailing address: P.O. Box 2126, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 CONTENTS p. 1 2021 Schedule Follow the Tar Heels: Supporting the Tar Heels p. 2 2021 Roster The University of North Carolina is proud of its long-standing relationship with p. 3 Head Coach Sam Paul Nike. The two parties signed a new 10-year contract in December of 2018 for Nike to p. 5 Asst. Coach Tripp Phillips continue as the exclusive supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and accessory products. Nike will provide the athletic department with shoes, uniforms, coaching gear, balls p. 6 Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center @TarHeelTennis and other equipment. p. 7 2019-20 Results & Stats Nike also gave the University $2 million for the Chancellor’s Academic Enhance- p. 9 Yearly Results @CarolinaTennis ment Fund to support faculty. p. 10 Postseason Play This partnership has benefitted all 28 varsity sports and provided millions of dollars p. 11 Honors & Awards for academics and student scholarships at the University. p. 14 All-Americas UNC Men’s Tennis Credits: Edited by Matt Bowers. 2020-21 Carolina Men’s Tennis Yearbook • Page 1 2020-21 Roster Name Ht. Yr. Hometown (High School) William Blumberg 6-2 Sr. Greenwich, Conn. (Greenwich) Brian Cernoch 6-0 Jr. Rockville, Md. (Florida Virtual School) Mark Dillon 5-11 So. Charlotte, N.C. (Myers Park) Rinky Hijikata 5-11 So. Sydney, NSW, Australia (The King’s School) Mac Kiger 5-11 Sr. New York, N.Y. (Laurel Springs School) Peter Murphy 5-10 Fr. Portland, Ore. (Jesuit) Adam Neff 6-1 Fr. Bradenton, Fla. Josh Peck 6-5 Sr. Calgary, Alberta, Canada (National Sports School) Benjamin Sigouin 6-3 Sr. Vancouver, Canada (Vancouver Learning Network) Simon Soendergaard 6-3 Sr. Frederikssund, Denmark (KVUC) Anuj Watane 5-11 So. Orlando, Fla. (Laurel Springs) Logan Zapp 6-3 Fr. Fleming Island, Fla. (Fleming Island) Head Coach: Sam Paul Associate Head Coach: Tripp Phillips Pronunciations William Blumberg: BLUM-berg (rhymes with “plum” Brian Cernoch: SIR-nock Rinky Hijikata: hiji-KAHT-ah Benjamin Sigouin: see-GWIN Simon Soendergaard: SONE-der-gard Anuj Watane: Ah-NUGE Wha-TAHN-ay 2020-21 Carolina Men’s Tennis Yearbook • Page 2 2020-21 Carolina Men’s Tennis Yearbook • Page 3 SAM PAUL Head Coach • 28th Season at UNC Head coach Sam Paul is the winningest active coach in Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tennis history with over 500 wins and continues to take the Tar Heel program to new heights. Entering his 28th season as the Tar Heels’ head coach in 2021, he has led UNC to rare air in recent years, with the team’s first national championship and first No. 1 ranking coming in 2016, the program’s first NCAA finals appearance in 2017 and another NCAA semifinal berth in 2019. The Tar Heels were poised for perhaps even greater heights with a 12-1 record in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus. UNC finished the year ranked No. 2, finishing among the nation’s top seven teams in the final national poll for the fifth year in a row and the sixth time in the past seven years. The Paul File Paul enters 2020-21 with a head coaching record of 502-209. He won • 502-209 head coaching record at North Carolina his 500th match on February 16, 2020. Paul has more wins than any coach • 32nd overall season at UNC, 28th season as head coach in program history and is the winningest active coach in ACC men’s Education: Presbyterian College, 1983 (B.S. in Applied Psychology) College Coaching: tennis. • University of North Carolina, Assistant Coach, 1989-93; Head Coach, In 2019, Carolina posted a 22-7 season that saw the team reach the 1993-present NCAA final four for the second time in three years and post its sixth • University of Richmond, Director of Tennis, Head Men’s and Women’s consecutive 20-win season. Tennis Coach, 1987-89 The 2017 Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year, Paul is also a six-time ACC • Trinity University, Assistant Coach, 1986-87 Coach of the Year, most recently in 2014. • University of South Carolina, Assistant Coach, 1983-85 Carolina’s tradition of excellence in men’s tennis dating back to the Awards: early stages of the 20th Century has only continued under Paul. The native • 1996 ACC Coach of the Year • 1996 ITA Mideast Region Coach of the Year of Lancaster, S.C., has strengthened the winning reputation of Tar Heel • 1996 ITA National Coach of the Year Finalist men’s tennis through his skill as a coach and recruiter since UNC Athletic • 2000 ACC Coach of the Year Director John Swofford named him as head coach in April 1993. • 2000 ITA Mideast Region Coach of the Year Paul’s players at Carolina have achieved at every level of play. Since • 2000 ITA National Coach of the Year Finalist he became an assistant coach at UNC in 1989, the Tar Heels have had • 2002 ACC Coach of the Year players earn first-team All-America honors 37 times. In both 2016 and • 2004 ACC Coach of the Year 2020, UNC led the nation with five All-America selections. In 2020, • 2004 ITA Mideast Region Coach of the Year William Blumberg became just the third eight-time All-America in men’s • 2004 ITA National Coach of the Year Finalist • 2007 ACC Coach of the Year ITA history and won the ITA Senior Player of the Year award. • 2007 ITA Mideast Region Coach of the Year Many players under Paul’s tutelage have gone on to tremendous success • 2007 ITA National Coach of the Year Finalist on the professional level. Five players tutored by Paul have ascended • 2014 ACC Coach of the Year to the Top 500 of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles • 2017 ITA National Coach of the Year rankings. Don Johnson, captain of the 1990 ACC championship team Championships: and a former UNC assistant coach under Paul, won the 2001 Wimbledon • ITA National Team Indoor Championship, 2016 doubles championship and is the former No. 1-ranked doubles player in • ACC Tournament Championships: 1990, 1992, 2002 the world. Paul’s former players have reached the semifinals of every • ACC Regular Season Championships: 1991, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2018 Grand Slam event, won 25 ATP events and over 35 Challengers. During his tenure as the head and assistant coach at North Carolina, the have won the Patterson Medal as Carolina’s outstanding senior student- Tar Heels have won seven ACC championships, including the 1990, 1992 athlete — Tripp Phillips in 2000 and Nick Monroe in 2004. Prior to those and 2002 tournament titles and the 1991, 1992, 1996 and 2004 regular- two selections, no Carolina tennis player had won the award in half a season championships. century. The Tar Heels have earned NCAA Tournament bids in 24 of Paul’s 27 Among the awards won by Paul’s players have been ITA National years as head coach (the NCAA Tournament was cancelled in 2020).