Brett Clark, left, not only clinched UNC's win but set the school record for wins in a season.
ATHENS, GA. -- Sophomore Brett Clark clinched North Carolina's first trip to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals in 22 years on Friday evening as the No. 7 seed Tar Heels defeated the No. 10 seed and host Georgia Bulldogs 4-2 at Henry Feild Stadium.
Clark's win at No. 3 singles capped a brilliant afternoon for coach Sam Paul's Tar Heels before a partisan Georgia crowd at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. In the process, Clark won his 37th singles match of the 2013-14 campaign, breaking the school record he had shared with Roland Thornqvist (1992-93) and Nicholas Monroe (2003-04).
| DI MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP |
|---|
| Singles, doubles finals recap |
| Singles: UCLA's Giron wins singles title |
| All Cal match-up for singles title, doubles final set |
| Singles: FIrst semifinalist for Texas in 21 years |
| Singles: USF's Cid continues run through Day 2 |
| Singles: Athens becomes upset city on first day |
| Championship recap Gallery |
| Final: USC wins program's 21st, school's 100th title |
| Semis: Oklahoma extends run to first title match |
| Semis: Southern Cal wins clash with Virginia |
| Quarters: UCLA ousts Ohio St. for third time in four years |
| Quarters: Oklahoma reaches program's first semifinal |
| Quarters: Southern Cal. bounces back to beat Texas |
| Quarters: Virginia advances to semifinals with 4-0 win |
| Round of 16: Ohio St. survives Fla. | UCLA gets by Tenn. |
| Round of 16: Okla. heads to quarters | UNC outlasts UGa. |
| Round of 16: Baylor sweeps Illini | Cavs beat Irish again |
| Round of 16: USC halts Columbia | Texas gets by Cal |
| Brackets: Interactive Printable |
| Individual Draws: Singles | Doubles |
 Live Scoring |
It was Carolina's first victory in the NCAA Round of 16 since 1992 when a ninth-ranked UNC squad defeated an eighth-ranked TCU team 5-3 at the McWhorter Courts at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Friday's win against Georgia ensures that the Tar Heels will play in the NCAA quarterfinals for the second time since the tournament went to a team format in 1976.
Next up for the Tar Heels will be second-seeded Oklahoma. The Tar Heels and the Sooners will meet at 4 p.m. ET Sunday in the quarterfinals. The Sooners advanced with a 4-0 win against Kentucky on Friday.
Carolina got off to an early lead as it continued its excellent doubles play of late, winning two matches that were every bit as tight as their scores indicated. First off the court were the Tar Heel freshman tandem of Jack Murray and Ronnie Schneider who prevailed against Georgia's Garrett Brasseaux and Nick Wood 8-7. The freshman Heels dominated the tiebreaker 7-1 to get the victory. The other two matches were just as fraught with drama. Eventually, freshman Brayden Schnur and sophomore Brett Clark prevailed against UGA's Hernus Pieters and Ben Wagland 8-6. Schnur clinched the point for UNC as he served out the 14th game of the match at love to put the Heels up 1-0. On court No. 2, UNC's Oystein Steiro and Nelson Vick were all locked up with Eric Diaz and Austin Smith 6-6 when the match was halted.
Georgia would go up in the match 2-1 as the Bulldogs won the first two singles matches off the court. At No. 6 singles, the Bulldogs' Hernus Pieters prevailed against Carolina's Nelson Vick 6-3, 6-3 to even the match. Shortly thereafter, Ben Wagland of the Bulldogs clinched his match against UNC's Oystein Steiro 7-5, 6-3 at No. 4 singles.
From that point on, however, it was all Tar Heels. Freshman Ronnie Schneider led the charge for Carolina as he won at No. 2 singles, earning his 34th singles victory of the year. Schneider defeated Nathan Pasha of the Bulldogs, who returned to the singles lineup for the first time in NCAA play for the Dogs. Schneider won the first set 7-6, claiming a marathon tiebreaker 9-7, before winning 6-3 in the second set. Schneider had to rally from a 5-1 deficit in the tiebreaker before claiming the first set.
On court No. 1, freshman Brayden Schnur improved to 18-4 in singles action during his freshman year as he won a three-setter from Austin Smith of the Bulldogs by a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 score.
All attention turned to court Nos. 3 and 5 where Tar Heel players had the upper hand in both matches. Freshman Jack Murray was unfazed by the partisan crowd as he won 7-5 in the first set and was in position to win the second set, leading 6-5 before the match was halted.
It was halted because a few courts over on No. 3, it was Brett Clark who continued to be a clutch player, improving to 37-11 in singles. His record-breaking win came as the Clark beat Garrett Brasseaux of the Dogs 6-4, 7-6. Clark prevailed in the match-clinching tiebreaker 7-3.
