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Brian Cernoch made his college commitment on hallowed tennis grounds.

Standing near Court 11 at Wimbledon last month, the rising senior blue chip turned to North Carolina men's coach Sam Paul and gave his verbal pledge to be a Tar Heel.

Brian Cernoch verbally committed to UNC
© Rowland Charles Goodman

“I just felt like that was the right time to do it and have it set,” Cernoch said. “I just told him this is the place I want to be and let's just make it official.”

It was not a hasty decision. The Rockville, Md., native was already leaning toward committing to UNC and had discussed the choice with his parents.

Cernoch said Paul had spoken to his parents about the scholarship money available and any other questions they had about the program.

“I just wanted to make sure that it was the best school for me tennis-wise and academic-wise,” said Cernoch, who also considered Illinois, Ohio State, Arizona State and Stanford. “When I took an unofficial visit there, it really just felt like home and I could see myself going to school there and playing for North Carolina.”