The men's tennis team already had the school's first 16-win season since 1986 and the first third place finish in the ACC in 22 years. But that wasn't enough; the team wanted to win the ACC Tournament, held in Raleigh April 19-21. Unfortunately, it just wasn't the year.

The team began the tournament by downing Clemson 4-1 April 19 in the quarterfinals. Then they challenged North Carolina to a thrilling three-hour, 15 minute match April 20. In the end, however, they were outlasted and fell 4-2, just short of advancing to the championship against Georgia Tech.

"It was a little disappointing, but overall not bad," Assistant Coach Shawn Heinchon said after the match. "We competed harder in that match than any match all year. It's tough when you play that long only to come up down in a few points here or there."

The No. 3 seeded Deacs' first challenge of the weekend was to get past No. 6 seed Clemson in the quarterfinals. During regular season play, the team sluggishly struggled for a 5-2 victory over the Tigers.

"Against Clemson the first time, we didn't have the intensity, emotion and excitement necessary to win the way we wanted," Heinchon said. "At the tournament it was a different story."

Although a two-hour rain delay forced the match to be moved from Raleigh to indoors at nearby Chapel Hill, the team maintained the intensity necessary for a 4-1 win. The Deacons won the doubles point early with junior Trent Brendon and sophomore David Loewenthal winning on the No. 1 court and junior David Bere and senior Justin Kaufmann winning on the No. 3 court. In singles action, the Deacs secured their advancement with quick two-set wins from freshman D.J. Spice, junior Mike Murray and Kaufmann.

"We did a great job taking care of Clemson," Heinchon said. "It could have become a complicated match with the rain delay, but we overcame that and played much better against them than we did in the regular season."

The team advanced and got the draw it wanted against a tough Carolina squad that had won nine out of its last ten matches, including a 4-3 victory over the Deacons at Chapel Hill. The 22nd-ranked Deacs fought hard, but in the end the 25th-ranked Heels came up with the points necessary for a 4-2 upset.

"We were really looking forward to another shot at them in the tournament," Heinchon said. "Both teams ended up playing much better than when we met during the regular season."

Carolina secured the doubles point early with victories on courts two and three. Nicholas Monroe and Daniel Pinchbeck beat Spice and Murray 8-6, then Trystan Meniane and Geoff Boyd downed Bere and Kauffman 8-4.

"We didn't play poorly in doubles against Carolina," Heinchon said. "We were just outplayed."

Still, the Deacs didn't let the 1-0 margin get to them. The team fought hard in singles and went up in the first set in five of the six singles matches.

"Everyone got off to a great start in singles, winning five of the six first sets in singles matches," Heinchon said. "We gave ourselves a great chance and couldn't ask for a better start."

The Deacs moved in front 2-1 with victories from Loewenthal and Murray, but the Tar Heels battled back with wins over Brendon and Spice. The match stood at 3-2 with two matches left in play.

In the end, the Tar Heels Andrew Metzler clinched the match for North Carolina after battling back from one set down on the No. 6 singles to win 6-4 in the third set over Kauffman.

"We ended the season on a good note with a good match," Brendon said. "It was the hardest we fought all year. It left us in a good position to play well in the NCAAs. We proved we can play with anybody." With the loss, the Deacons drop to 17-5 on the season. North Carolina advanced to win the tournament 4-3 over Georgia Tech, clinching the school's first men's tennis title.

The Deacs will now prepare for the NCAA tournament beginning May 10. The pairings for the 2002 NCAA Championship will be announced May 2.

"The sky is the limit in the Tournament. If these guys can match the level of intensity with a high work ethic, there's no telling what kind of damage we can do." Heinchon said.