University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Henry Patten '19 Embarks on Title Run at Wimbledon 2024
07.16.2024 | Men's Tennis
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Former UNC Asheville Men's Tennis player Henry Patten '19 recently embarked on a remarkable run at Wimbledon 2024, winning the Gentlemen's Doubles title and also advancing to the second round of the Mixed Doubles.
"What an unbelievable achievement," said former Bulldog head coach Tom Hand, who coached Patten at UNC Asheville. "Every kid that has ever played tennis had dreamed of winning Wimbledon, especially all the Brits. I couldn't be prouder of him. We knew we had something a bit special while he was with us at UNC Asheville, but I'm not sure we had this in mind."
In Gentlemen's Doubles, Patten teamed up with Harri Heliövaara of Finland for his run to the title.The pair began beating No. 5 Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli out of Italy 6-3, 6-4. The tandem then dispatched Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar of Spain 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the second round. The pair then faced Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo of Brazil in the Round of 16, winning 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. Patten and Heliövaara battled back from dropping the first set in the quarterfinal to beat No. 4 Marcelo Arévalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavić of Croatia 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (10-7). In the semifinals, Patten avenged his loss to Venus in Mixed Doubles as the duo took care of business 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) over No. 9 Venus of New Zealand and Neal Skupski of Great Britain. As the lone Brit left in the tournament field, Patten was able to capture his first career major championship on his home soil against No. 15 Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson of Australia, becoming the first unseeded pair since 2014 to lift the trophy. Purcell and Thompson took the first set 7-6 (9-7) with Patten and Heliövaara holding off five set points, before the duo rallied to take the second set 7-6 (10-8) to force a winner-take-all third set after trailing in the tiebreak 5-2. Patton and Heliövaara trailed in the set before forcing yet another tiebreak, rallying within the tiebreak to capture the title.
"What Henry has done on the biggest stage to become a Grand Slam Champion is absolutely incredible," said current Bulldog head coach Matt Frost. "Having someone represent our program and the greater Bulldog Nation in this way has provided a huge buzz around campus. Let's hope this can be the catalyst for more alumni to dare to dream after their collegiate careers. We cannot wait for the next time he is back on campus to learn from his experiences and let him know what he means to our Asheville community!"
In Mixed Doubles, Patton teamed up with fellow Brit Olivia Nicholls for a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win over former doubles partner Julian Cash and Maia Lumsden to advance to the second round. Patten and Nicholls fell to Erin Routliffe and Michael Venus of New Zealand 7-5, 5-7, 9-11.
"We are so proud of Henry for winning his first career major championship!" said Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone. "It was thrilling to witness him compete on the world stage and then to see him and his partner win the Grand Slam Championship was a moment that UNC Asheville Bulldogs all over the world will cherish for a long time."
A 2019 graduate of UNC Asheville, Patten was an Intercollegiate Tennis Association ITA) All-American in doubles and a three-time Big South Conference Player of the Year. He was a four-time Big South Conference First Team All-Conference selection in singles play, and a three-time First Team All-Conference selection in doubles play. He was a seven-time Player of the Week selection, and a two-time Freshman of the Week selection. Patten also made an appearance in the 2019 NCAA Division I national tournament for both singles and doubles. Patten was also an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2019. He and Olli Nolan also won an Oracle ITA Fall National Championship in 2018.Â
Â
"What an unbelievable achievement," said former Bulldog head coach Tom Hand, who coached Patten at UNC Asheville. "Every kid that has ever played tennis had dreamed of winning Wimbledon, especially all the Brits. I couldn't be prouder of him. We knew we had something a bit special while he was with us at UNC Asheville, but I'm not sure we had this in mind."
In Gentlemen's Doubles, Patten teamed up with Harri Heliövaara of Finland for his run to the title.The pair began beating No. 5 Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli out of Italy 6-3, 6-4. The tandem then dispatched Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar of Spain 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the second round. The pair then faced Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo of Brazil in the Round of 16, winning 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. Patten and Heliövaara battled back from dropping the first set in the quarterfinal to beat No. 4 Marcelo Arévalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavić of Croatia 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (10-7). In the semifinals, Patten avenged his loss to Venus in Mixed Doubles as the duo took care of business 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) over No. 9 Venus of New Zealand and Neal Skupski of Great Britain. As the lone Brit left in the tournament field, Patten was able to capture his first career major championship on his home soil against No. 15 Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson of Australia, becoming the first unseeded pair since 2014 to lift the trophy. Purcell and Thompson took the first set 7-6 (9-7) with Patten and Heliövaara holding off five set points, before the duo rallied to take the second set 7-6 (10-8) to force a winner-take-all third set after trailing in the tiebreak 5-2. Patton and Heliövaara trailed in the set before forcing yet another tiebreak, rallying within the tiebreak to capture the title.
"What Henry has done on the biggest stage to become a Grand Slam Champion is absolutely incredible," said current Bulldog head coach Matt Frost. "Having someone represent our program and the greater Bulldog Nation in this way has provided a huge buzz around campus. Let's hope this can be the catalyst for more alumni to dare to dream after their collegiate careers. We cannot wait for the next time he is back on campus to learn from his experiences and let him know what he means to our Asheville community!"
In Mixed Doubles, Patton teamed up with fellow Brit Olivia Nicholls for a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win over former doubles partner Julian Cash and Maia Lumsden to advance to the second round. Patten and Nicholls fell to Erin Routliffe and Michael Venus of New Zealand 7-5, 5-7, 9-11.
"We are so proud of Henry for winning his first career major championship!" said Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone. "It was thrilling to witness him compete on the world stage and then to see him and his partner win the Grand Slam Championship was a moment that UNC Asheville Bulldogs all over the world will cherish for a long time."
A 2019 graduate of UNC Asheville, Patten was an Intercollegiate Tennis Association ITA) All-American in doubles and a three-time Big South Conference Player of the Year. He was a four-time Big South Conference First Team All-Conference selection in singles play, and a three-time First Team All-Conference selection in doubles play. He was a seven-time Player of the Week selection, and a two-time Freshman of the Week selection. Patten also made an appearance in the 2019 NCAA Division I national tournament for both singles and doubles. Patten was also an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2019. He and Olli Nolan also won an Oracle ITA Fall National Championship in 2018.Â
Â
LJ Thorpe Chalk Talk | Men's Basketball
Wednesday, August 27
Alumni Interview || Clay Edmondson || Baseball
Monday, August 04
Why Asheville || Payton Rolfsen || Volleyball
Thursday, July 24
Why Asheville || Addie Cooper || Women's Soccer
Tuesday, June 17