The North Carolina women’s tennis team (26-3) rebounded from a tough loss against Miami two weeks ago to dominate South Carolina State Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“We’re excited to get back and compete after our last match,” coach Brian Kalbas said. “When you lose a match like that, you want to get right back at it to get that taste out of your mouth. It was a great team effort (today), and everybody played well.”
The Tar Heels raced to the finish line, winning 4-0 in a match that lasted just under two hours at the Cone-Kenfield Center. In comparison, the last match versus Miami lasted more than four and a half hours.
During the doubles portion, UNC got wins from No. 58 Caroline Price and Whitney Kay, and Gina Suarez-Malaguti and Tessa Lyons.
In the singles portion, UNC stormed out of the gate and led five matches by one set after just half an hour. Kay, senior Zoe De Bruycker and junior Tessa Lyons all won their matches.
“We were very focused, and we had a good meeting yesterday,” De Bruycker said. “ (UNC women’s soccer coach) Anson (Dorrance) talked to us, and that pumped us up.”
Coming out with a focused mentality still couldn’t make up for the two weeks off of playing live tennis. In the first few games of doubles, there were some uncharacteristic unforced errors by the Tar Heels.
“We didn’t really know this opponent, and when you don’t know your opponent, it’s a feel out process for the first few games,” Kalbas said.
With exams finishing up earlier this week, the Tar Heels have been able to shift their focus entirely to tennis and the NCAA tournament.