Once again in 2022, Carolina's men's and women's tennis teams have proven their mettle among the top programs in the country, and Tar Heels from both squads dotted the landscape of the collegiate and international tennis scenes.
The women's program posted a 28-3 record and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships in May before losing to Texas, and sophomore Fiona Crawley individually surged into the national semifinals. Reese Brantmeier, a freshman who's yet to don a Carolina blue jersey for an official match, competed in her third U.S. Open, teaming with Clervie Ngounoue in doubles (they lost to the No. 10 seed in the second round) in early September in Flushing Meadow, N.Y.
Meanwhile, former Tar Heel Rinky Hijikata, who turned pro in 2021, challenged Rafael Nadal in the first round of the U.S. Open, taking the first set before dropping the match in four sets, with his mother watching from courtside and getting some primo television time while wearing a Carolina tennis shirt that celebrated the Tar Heels' 2021 national indoor team title. Nicholas Monroe (Class of 2004) and William Blumberg (Carolina '21) competed separately in doubles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and Blumberg advanced to the semifinals of mixed doubles with partner Caty McNally in September. The men's team won 12 of its final 16 matches to finish 18-9 in 2022, reaching the round of 16 of the NCAA Championships for the eighth consecutive year.
This considerable prosperity of both programs is set to rev into the next gear during the 2022-23 season with the completion of a major overhaul and renovation of the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, located behind the Friday Center off Hwy. 54 two miles east of the Carolina campus. The outdoor portion of the $17 million project includes 12 competition and practice courts, championship court lighting and stadium seating with awnings for sun and rain cover. The indoor component includes resurfacing all six courts and fixing some structural problems that had developed over three decades.
"Collegiate success to Grand Slam success, that's one way we recruit," says Sam Paul, the men's coach since 1993. "Our recruiting mantra is you're going to get a world-class education and you're going to get world-class training – setting you up for the pro tour or whatever you do in life. We've got a lot of history of tennis at Carolina. These improvements will only allow us to build on that history and tradition."
"There's a lot of excitement around both programs, and with this new facility, it's going to add the opportunity for growth and accomplishing things we've never done before," adds Brian Kalbas, the women's coach since 2003.
The tennis programs have had four homes over more than a century – first on courts on central campus near Cobb Dormitory; then behind Hinton James Dormitory before construction of the Dean E. Smith Center; and then a location on the site of the original Chapel Hill Country Club off Laurel Hill Road. They moved into their current facility in September 1992. The Cone-Kenfield Indoor Tennis Center was named in honor of Caesar Cone II, who earned a letter in tennis in the 1920s and was the son of Caesar Cone, one of the founders of textile manufacturing giant Cone Mills. His family made a significant naming rights gift toward the $2.5 million complex. The new venue was also named for John Kenfield, Carolina's first tennis coach who led the program from 1928-35 and won 17 conference titles.
Over time, the Tar Heels had to deal with a variety of court and building problems. The outdoor courts were known for dead spots and cracks because of a major construction error when they were originally built. A dead squirrel fell through a hole in the roof of the indoor facility, and players routinely practiced in the winter around tubs set to collect water dripping from leaks in the roof. One recruit in recent years who idolized the Tar Heels' incumbent No. 1 player visited with his hometown coach, who paused the tour midway through and said, "Sorry, but you're not even in the ballpark" of competing with facilities the prospect was also considering.
The problems were severe enough that by the spring of 2019, a scheduled women's team match against Florida State on a nice spring day had to be moved indoors because one of the outdoor courts had a rip in it "large enough to put your foot into," as Kalbas remembers.
And yet the men's team has been ranked in the nation's top 10 at some point each of the last 10 years and won the 2016 and 2021 ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The women's team has won six indoor national titles the last decade and been a national semifinalist the last three years of competition (allowing for an off year because of Covid-19 in 2020).
"Our tennis program has been underserved for many years compared to the performance they've delivered," says Tom Chewning, who played tennis at Carolina from 1965-67. "I felt over the years watching the coaches and players and how hard they've worked and how well they've competed, I felt embarrassed we didn't match their efforts with first-class courts. We've been behind a lot of teams we've been beating."
Joe Frierson, a Tar Heel tennis player from 1989-92, has retained ties to the program over three decades by helping to organize the Carolina Tennis Circle, a group of lettermen. He too has felt the program has many years of catching up to do in the facility realm.
"The men's and women's teams together have been two of the most consistently successful teams of the 28 sports offered at Carolina," Frierson says. "Academically, their combined grades are right at the top as well. But the reality is the facilities are outside the top 50 in the country. The courts have been in worse shape than most public parks. The benefit of having good coaches and a place like Chapel Hill and Carolina, which sells itself, is you can sort of hide the warts for a while."
Chewning and another former Tar Heel tennis player, Keith Stoneman, are the lynchpins in an ongoing effort to upgrade the Cone-Kenfield Center along with help from lettermen like Frierson and The Rams Club. Construction is well underway on the new state-of-the-art home for Carolina tennis with a projected completion date in plenty of time for the 2023 spring tennis season.
The Rams Club's fundraising effort has been met with enthusiasm from followers of Carolina Tennis. That effort continues now as opportunities and challenges remain ahead in the effort to raise the $17 million needed to complete the project for Carolina Tennis.
"This project is both needed by and well-deserved for these two outstanding programs," says John Montgomery, executive director of The Rams Club. "A group of incredibly generous donors has stepped forward already to help get this project underway. There is great momentum behind this effort, and we look forward to engaging with many others who share the belief that this facility can be a great tool to improve the experience of our student-athletes."
"This facility will put us with the best in the country," Chewning says. "I'm proud to stay I'm still around and kicking to be involved with it. I think both programs have a real chance to build on their success in a big way. We've just been putting Band-Aids on the problems for years now."
Stoneman played on the team from 1961-63 and was captain in 1963. The Tar Heels were 7-0 in the ACC each year and won three conference titles.
"A home court advantage is important," Stoneman says. "We want to have fans show up and be excited. We want spectators to be comfortable. We want a tennis stadium equal to the on-campus facilities we now have for lacrosse and field hockey. Our teams deserve that."
Paul and Kalbas look forward to their teams being able to play night matches and host NCAA competitions. And not have to be dodging cracks and dead spots in the courts every spring.
"We think it's going to really promote tennis in our area even in our summer camp program," Paul says. "It's going to be tremendous for young players to come in and get motivated and get excited about tennis. We're going to redesign all of our indoor graphics so we can display the history of our program, which is incredible. We've had multiple Grand Slam champions going all the way back to Vic Seixas."
"I played for Don Skakle and it was special to be one of 'Don's boys,'" Chewning says. "The women who played for Kitty Harrison felt the same about her. Now we've had Sam Paul for 30 years, and he worked under Allen Morris. Brian's been here 20 years. We've had a tradition of excellent tennis with quality people who have represented the University well and done well scholastically."
The work on the tennis complex is occurring just one-third of a mile as the crow flies from the eastern edge of UNC Finley Golf Course, which this fall will shut down for a major overhaul as well. Rebuilding the foundation of the tennis courts required removal of some 40,000 square feet of dirt that will be used on the golf course renovation and result in a significant cost savings.
"Tennis and golf are sports of a lifetime," Stoneman says. "Those programs at Carolina have had wonderful success over many years. Seeing both of these projects right now is very exciting. We're raising the bar in both sports."
Adds Chewning, "Our tennis players have come to play for Sam and Brian. They have not let the problems of the courts or the building bother them. But it's bothered me and a lot of other people. We're finally doing something about it."
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Now Serving...Excitement Builds Around Tennis Facility Upgrades - University of North Carolina Athletics - UNC Athletics
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