Tennis is widely considered an individual sport — an intense battle between two competitors divided by a net.
And since the beginning of the fall, the members of the North Carolina women’s tennis team have solely represented themselves in tournaments across the nation.
But starting today, those individuals will finally come together and form the eighth-ranked team in the nation.
“So far it’s been all individual tournaments and results,” coach Brian Kalbas said. “But now we turn the switch — starting tomorrow it’s all about what’s best for the team.”
Though Kalbas is pleased with his team’s individual performance thus far, he is even more excited about seeing them work together.
“That’s what’s wonderful about college tennis,” Kalbas said. “They’ll be able to impact one another while playing next to their teammates. Your intensity, your emotion, your effort and attitude has a contagious effect on the players playing next to you.”
The Tar Heels have a talented group with seven women ranked in the top 125 nationally along with two doubles teams ranked in the country’s top 60.
Kalbas is counting on his senior captains, Zoe De Bruycker, Lauren McHale and Gina Suarez-Malaguti, to step up as leaders and end their careers on a high note.
“All three of them are captains and deserve it for a lot of reasons,” Kalbas said. “The last four years have been the most successful years in the history of our program, and they are all a big reason for that.”
