Changer – University of North Carolina Athletics

by Lee Pace
 
 
Tar Heel Will Jansen was locked in a back-and-forth match against Matthew Thomson of Wake Forest on the first Sunday of April, the sounds of the Englishman grunting with each stroke alternating with the pop of the yellow ball and squeak of the players’ shoes.

Spectators on both the north and south ends of the court leaned forward in their sparkling new seats (Carolina blue, no less, with seat backs and arm rests) taking in the twists and turns in the match, with Jansen scrambling back from a match point on deuce while trailing 3-5 in the third set.

 

Five of his teammates whose matches were complete watched from one court away and alternately pivoted in the other direction to follow the one match still going at the far end of the six-court configuration. After each Jansen point, as he reeled off winning three games in a row to take the lead in the third set, the spectating Tar Heels belted out the shouts of TAR … HEELS … TAR … HEELS … across the stadium, the fans answering with gusto.

 

And why not? It’s a perfect spring afternoon, Carolina blue courts to match the sky, a new $18.5 million facility at long last open, and the home team riveted in a tight match with an old rival.

 

When Wake Forest’s Thomson flared a volley wide right, Jansen flipped his racket to the ground, clenched his fists, screamed with delight, and was mobbed by a dozen teammates. His win clinched a 4-3 team victory, Carolina’s first win in the new outdoor tennis facility – newly dedicated as the Chewning Tennis Center.

 

“One of best parts of college tennis is an atmosphere like that,” teammate Ryan Seggerman reflected afterward. “Will will remember this the rest of his life, being fully in the moment, embracing the crowd, embracing the new facility. Being loud, cheering for each other, that’s why we play college tennis. This match means a lot because of the rivalry with Wake Forest. It was so close, it came down to a couple of points here and there. This was an atmosphere you don’t get everywhere.

 

“It’s a special place and a special time to be here.”

 

Among the spectators were a handful of members of the Carolina women’s team, which on the previous two days had christened the new venue by…