Chapel Hill, NC — For the past three seasons, the University of North Carolina has been steadily improving. In 2008, the first season UNC sent a team to the Men’s National Team Championships after a hiatus of several years, the Tar Heels won the Emerging Teams Division.
The next year, UNC fielded a team in the nine-player Serues Cup (F Division) competition, finishing 46th overall. And last season, the Tar Heels finished 44th, beating USC decisively 8-1 in the first round and then suffering narrow, 4-5 losses to Virginia and Vanderbilt.
Building on their improvement over the past few seasons may be a challenge for the Tar Heels this year. The team is only returning three players: number 1, Rees Sweeney-Taylor; number 6, Prateek Peres-da-Silva, who will serve as captain; and number 8, Ian Wallace. The team is also expecting Alex Katz, a first-year player, to play in the team’s top 3.
“The team is undergoing a drastic rebuilding year after the loss of four of the top 5 players from last season,” says Peres-da-Silva. “We are looking forward to our budding rivalry with a young Duke team.”
2009-2010 SEASON RECAP
Record: 2-4
Final Ranking: 44th
National Team Championships: 44th Overall; 4th in the Serues Cup (F Division)
2010-2010 SEASON PREVIEW
Head Coach: Ed Durand
Program Status: Club
Captain: Prateek Peres-da-Silva
Returning Players: Prateek Peres-da-Silva (6), Rees Sweeney Taylor (1), Ian Wallace (8)
Players Graduating/Not Returning from 2009-2010 Championships Roster: Anshul Agrawal (7); Ben Matthews (5); Michael Morrill (4); Ivan Ng (2); Henry Spelman (9); Sam Hazelgrove (3)
Additions to the 2010-2011 Roster: Alex Katz (expected to play in the top 3)
To read other team previews, please visit the 2010 – 2011 College Squash Preview Page.
