She goes by Pichi.
And though her nickname may draw reference to a soft, fuzzy fruit, North Carolina tennis player Gina Suarez-Malaguti is known more for her hard-hitting game that leaves her opponents in the pits.
“My mom gave me that nickname since I was born,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “It comes from ‘pichina,’ which means ‘little girl’ in Italian.”
The Venezuela native played like anything but a little girl in UNC’s 5-2 victory against No. 43 Wake Forest (7-9, 1-3 ACC), stepping up her play in lieu of losses from North Carolina’s top players.
Suarez-Malaguti dominated Wake Forest opponent Ryann Cutillo in singles play, 6-1, 6-2, and teamed up with senior and team leader Sanaz Marand to cruise to a commanding 8-2 doubles win.
Suarez-Malaguti’s two wins sealed the victory for the Tar Heels (17-3, 4-0 ACC), whose top three players did not score any points — top player Katrina Tsang sat out, while Jelena Durisic and Marand lost singles matches in third-set tiebreakers.
“I think she’s shown a lot of maturity,” coach Brian Kalbas said. “She understands that she doesn’t always need to hit winners.”
But Suarez-Malaguti didn’t entirely abandon her power game, as demonstrated by a number of athletic winners, including an emphatic cross-court winner on match point.
The dynamic freshman has a versatile playing style, one that kept her opponent desperately trying to find and exploit weaknesses in Suarez-Malaguti’s game.
“In the second set she started lobbing me more,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “She started pushing me back, and I don’t really like lobbing games.”
Unfortunately for her opponent, Suarez-Malaguti doesn’t have too many holes in her game to exploit. She countered her opponent’s change in strategy with her power, keeping her foe on the move and preventing her from hitting well-placed lobs.
“That’s my goal — hit the ball deep and use my strength,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “I’m known for being strong and stuff.”
The other “stuff” she’s known for are her boisterous antics on court. Suarez-Malaguti is never at a loss for an animated celebration, whether it is a fist pump or a phrase in her native Spanish language.
“I just get so fired up on the court,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “I love being on the court. It’s my favorite place because it’s where I get to be myself.”
Suarez-Malaguti said her confidence on the court has been the key to her success. Just a freshman on the top team in the country, Suarez-Malaguti is playing at the fourth singles spot and teamed with No. 32 Marand in doubles.
Suarez-Malaguti only started playing with Marand last week when Kalbas paired the two as an experiment during the Tar Heels’ 7-0 rout of Maryland on Sunday.
In their first match together, the tandem started off slow, but won the last six games of the match to pull out the win, 8-5.
The unlikely pair — Marand, the calmer competitor, and Suarez-Malaguti, the lively one — has found common ground in their style of play.
“She sets me up really well and finished the points well,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “And with my strength I get to set her up well, too.”
And there’s a place for Suarez-Malaguti’s vivacity in the pairing as well.
“I’ve always been loud,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “And she likes it.”
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Sunday, May 5, 2024
Newsletters
Latest print issue
Help us keep going. Donate Today.
