CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Anuj Watane came from behind to win the clincher as North Carolina’s men’s tennis team beat No. 13 Harvard, 4-1, in the championship match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Sunday. The two ranked teams played before a standing-room-only crowd at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center to cap an exciting weekend of action in Chapel Hill.
After dropping the first set to Steven Sun at No. 5 singles, Watane roared back to win the next two frames by 6-2 scores and grab the victory.
With the win, UNC advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on February 17-20 in Chicago. The Tar Heels won the ITA National Indoor title in both 2016 and 2021.
Carolina, ranked No. 17 in the ITA Top 25 poll, improved to 4-1 this season. Harvard fell to 3-1.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” head coach Sam Paul said afterward. “First of all, Harvard’s got a great team. We knew that coming in here. We knew also that Oklahoma State [on Saturday] would be a tough challenge for us. They’ve got a great coach, and they’re getting a lot better. Putting two matches together, back-to-back like this…I’m just really proud of our guys.
“I’m really proud of how we fought,” Paul continued. “At this time last week, we had a long ride home from South Carolina. We were in a pretty good position, we thought, but things didn’t go our way. I think that helped us coming into the weekend. I’m really proud of the guys.”
The Tar Heels won the doubles point to start the afternoon. William Jansen and Karl Poling took a 6-3 at No. 3 over Steven Sun and Ronan Jachuck to begin. Casey Kania and
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