The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
North Carolina
No. 10 Men's Tennis preview: No. 8 North Carolina
02.19.2015 | Men's Tennis
Longhorns begin seven-match homestand against 8th-ranked North Carolina on Friday (6 p.m. Central).
Match 11: #10 TEXAS (9-1) vs. #8 North Carolina (9-3)
Date/Time: Friday, Feb. 20 • 6 p.m. Central
Site: Austin, Texas • Weller Indoor Tennis Center
Live Scoring • @TexasMTN • Season Stats
NOTES
• The Longhorns begin a seven-match homestand against No. 8 North Carolina on Friday evening at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center (6 p.m. Central). UT's upcoming homestand includes four top-25 teams.
• SERIES VS. NORTH CAROLINA: UT and North Carolina are meeting for the fifth consecutive season on Friday. Texas holds a 13-4 all-time series lead against UNC. Last season North Carolina edged Texas, 4-3, in Chapel Hill.
• HESS-OLESEN TWINS: The Hess-Olesen twins -- UT's Søren and UNC's Esben -- have faced on the court in two of the last three dual matches between Texas and North Carolina. In 2012, Søren won a doubles match with Alex Hilliard over Esben and Brennan Boyajian, 8-3. Esben edged Søren in a three-set singles match in 2013 in Austin (6-3, 4-6, 4-6). The brothers did not compete against each other in last season's dual match in Chapel Hill.
• BIG 12 POWER: Four of the six Big 12 men's tennis teams are ranked in the top-20 (No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 5 Baylor, No. 10 Texas, No. 18 TCU).
• IN THE RANKINGS: The Longhorns are ranked No. 10 in the latest ITA Rankings. Texas has been ranked in the top-10 in 17 of the last 18 polls dating back to last season. Two student-athletes -- No. 16 Søren Hess-Olesen and No. 65 Adrien Berkowicz -- represent Texas in the singles rankings.
• UNDEFEATED LONGHORNS: Søren Hess-Olesen (10-0) and Adrien Berkowicz (10-0) are undefeated in dual match singles play this season. Hess-Olesen is a two-time All-American and enters the weekend with 12 consecutive victories and a 20-2 overall record. Berkowicz leads the team in total singles wins (22-6), including five over ranked opponents.
• TOP TIER SINGLES: UT's top three positions in singles are a combined 27-2 this season, including a 20-0 mark at singles positions one and two. Texas holds an overall 40-12 (.769) record in singles competition during dual match play.
• ALL-AMERICANS: The Longhorns return a pair of ITA All-Americans this season -- seniors Søren Hess-Olesen and Lloyd Glasspool. Hess-Olesen, a 2014 NCAA Singles Championship semifinalist, has earned All-American honors in singles twice (2013, 2014). Glasspool and Hess-Olesen earned doubles All-American honors last season as quarterfinalists in the NCAA Doubles Championship.
• COACH CENTER: Head Coach Michael Center is in his 15th season at Texas (293-103; .735) and his 24th overall as a head coach (451-171; .722).
• LAST TIME OUT: Texas posted two wins at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship last week, defeating No. 16 Penn State, 4-0, and No. 13 Columbia, 4-1. The Horns narrowly lost to No. 8 Ohio State in the opening round of the tournament, 4-3.
• NEXT UP: The Longhorns host No. 19 Wake Forest on March 1 (1 p.m. Central) in the first outdoor match of the season at the Caswell Tennis Center.
IN THE RANKINGS
Team
8. North Carolina
10. TEXAS
Singles
6. Brayden Schnur (UNC)
16. Søren Hess-Olesen
19. Ronnie Schneider (UNC)
65. Adrien Berkowicz
75. Robert Kelly (UNC)
104. Jack Murray (UNC)
Doubles
27. Oystein Steiro / Esben Hess-Olesen (UNC)
