SURPRISE, Ariz. – Henry Patten is still in shock.
“We played really well and it just feels really good,” Patten said. “I cannot even believe it. To do that against some of the best players in the country is really special.”
Oli Nolan fully agrees.
“It was just a nice feeling that we could achieve what we did together,” Nolan said. “It was nice to know that we did it together. That was the main thing. We also had huge support from others on our team.”
The UNC Asheville men’s tennis doubles duo of Nolan and Patten secured a national championship on Sunday, Nov. 11, with a 6-2, 6-1 win over nationally 42nd-ranked Bjorn Thomson and Parker Wynn of Texas Tech in the championship match of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.
In addition to the national championship win, Patten was also voted by the ITA Officials at the event to receive the Sportsmanship Award for the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
The championship match win for Nolan and Patten was part of a tremendous fall of 2018 for the pairing. Nolan and Patten went undefeated playing together during the fall and won three titles including the national championship.
To advance to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships the Bulldog duo first captured the doubles title at the ITA Carolina Regional Championship on Tuesday, Oct. 16. The fifth-seeded Bulldog duo bested fourth-seeded Bo Boyden and Anu Kodali of North Carolina 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (8) in the doubles championship match of the ITA Carolina Regional Championship at Cary Tennis Park on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Nolan and Patten also captured the title at the 51st Southern Intercollegiate Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. on Sept. 10.
It was an impressive run to the national championship at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
In the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 10, the Bulldog doubles duo bested Aziz Kijametovic and Francois Musitelli of Old Dominion 6-1, 7-6 (5).
On Friday in the quarterfinals of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, Nolan and Patten collected a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over the tournament fifth-seeded and nationally seventh-ranked pairing of Giovanni Oradini and Niclas Braun of Mississippi State.
The win over the tandem of Mississippi State came one day after the duo of Nolan and Patten bested the nationally 12th-ranked tandem of Alex Ribeiro and Henrik Korsgaard of Virginia Tech 7-5, 7-5 on Thursday.
The Bulldog duo opened the event by besting fourth-seeded and nationally 29th-ranked Martin Joyce and Hunter Tubert of Ohio State in the first round on Wednesday. Nolan and Patten picked up a 6-1, 3-6, 10-7 win over Ohio State’s Joyce and Tuber.
To learn more about UNC Asheville men’s tennis, please visit uncabulldogs.com.
