Following a dramatic weekend that included the postponement and rescheduling of its match against Boston College and a hotel lockdown, the No. 1 North Carolina women’s tennis team seemed unfazed in its victory Sunday against Maryland (6-15, 1-10 ACC).
“It was great to get away from Boston,” senior Gina Suarez-Malaguti said. “It wasn’t traumatic, but it was like a prison. We could see lines of cops going back and forth, and the helicopters they showed on TV could be seen from our bedroom window. It was a breather to leave, be outside again and play tennis.”
With the 7-0 win, UNC (23-2, 9-1 ACC) clinched at least a share of the ACC regular season title.
Coach Brian Kalbas said the team started off slowly in doubles due to a different lineup. Freshman Whitney Kay and sophomore Caroline Price sat out the match.
“Singles was a different story,” Kalbas said. “We started off strong and stayed strong. I liked the way we competed the whole time in singles.”
Suarez-Malaguti, Kate Vialle, Tessa Lyons, Lauren McHale, Ashley Dai and Zoe De Bruycker recorded the singles victories for the Tar Heels.
Suarez-Malaguti said it was a challenge to stay mentally sharp for the Maryland match given the roller coaster of emotions from UNC’s trip to the Boston area.
“We were a little soft in doubles and could’ve stepped up a bit,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “But in singles, I played some of the best tennis I’ve played in a while.”
McHale said Kalbas talked about blocking out the distraction from the weekend and focusing on the match at hand.