DURHAM — Ambler Stadium might not have the same electric atmosphere as Cameron Indoor. But for the Duke women’s tennis team, the home court advantage has propelled it to victories over North Carolina in each match since 2012.
On Tuesday, UNC first-year Chloe Ouellet-Pizer shook the monkey off No. 3 North Carolina’s (20-2, 8-0 ACC) back, as her 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 78 Ellyse Hamlin secured a 4-1 win for the Tar Heels.
“It’s so cool to beat Duke on their courts,” Ouellet-Pizer said. “The courts are really different here so I think that they have a home court advantage because the surface is fast."
The win over Duke increased UNC's lead over the Blue Devils in the ACC standings to two games, and helped it maintain sole possession of first place in the conference.
“They’re a very talented team so to beat them on their home courts was big for us at this stage of the season,” Coach Brian Kalbas said. “We’re really excited that we competed well and won a lot of close sets, which is huge, especially when you win the doubles point because it allowed us to keep the momentum.”
While Oullet-Pizer jumped out to early leads in both sets, Hamlin fought back to even the match. Each time it happened, Kalbas delivered a pep talk that helped Oullet-Pizer regroup and close out the sets.
“Chloe was playing the wrong strategy; she wasn’t thinking, she was just hitting the ball,” Kalbas said. “Once she started structuring the point the right way, she was able to get control of the match because Chloe’s opponent is very good when you play to her strengths.”
It was fitting that the Tar Heels had to read the resiliency chapter of Rich Froning and David Thomas’ "First: What it Takes to Win" this week.
No. 29 senior Whitney Kay’s 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win over 92nd ranked Chalena Scholl was unique in the fact that Kay was down a break in both sets and found a way to fight back and win each set.
