The No. 48 men’s tennis team will host their rivals from Chapel Hill at 2 p.m. today at Pullen Park. It marks team’s first competition at Pullen since construction began at the Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Outdoor Tennis Stadium earlier this year. The Pack boasts an 8-4 record heading into their first ACC matchup of the season and has every intention of upsetting the No. 22-ranked Tar Heels (5-4). Coach Jon Choboy knows neither team will hold anything back in their matches.
“It’s become a pretty heated rivalry,” Choboy said. “Anyone who comes out will see that. There’s no love lost between the two teams.”
The history between the two sides and the statistics involved favor the boys in blue but the Pack men are not concerned with the odds facing them. Junior Dominic Hodgson believes preparation and tact will be the key to their success.
“They know all our guys and we know all of theirs,” Hodgson said. “There’s no one on their team that worries us, at all. They’re very beatable. As long as we stick to our plans and execute them properly, I think we’ll win.”
The Pack has a hint of revenge in their gaze while recollecting the 6-1 loss they suffered the last time the two teams met, in Chapel Hill. Sophomore Dave Thomson is fueled by his lamentation over the performance he had during this previous bout.
“I can say, personally, I’ve certainly got some scores to settled,” Thomson said. “I don’t have fond memories from the match I played against my opponent last year. I hope that I get matched up against them this year because there’s definitely some revenge to be had.
“I’ve been looking forward to the March 18 matchup for the past seven or eight months since the beginning of the year when the schedule was made.”
Although Choboy thinks his team has no reason to be underestimated, the general feeling amongst the players is that UNC will stroll into Raleigh with an air of arrogance about them. Hodgson thinks the Heels will come expecting to win and neither side seems to have any compassion for the other.
“We don’t like those guys, at all,” Hodgson said. “To be perfectly honest, some of their tactics, in the past, are less than admirable. I cannot wait to play them. I know some of their players pretty well and I know their mentality is that they’re going to come over and just overtake us on our home court. I’m going to do my best because that’s the opposite of what we want, obviously.”
Thomson thinks it would be a mistake to worry too heavily about the hostility felt between the two schools’ athletic departments.
“It’s important not to get carried away by the rivalry fixture,” Thomson said. “When you think about it, it’s still just a game of tennis. I have to take care of everything I can control and do my best. I think it’s important to focus on myself and not get carried away.”
