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First-years set tone for UNC women's tennis in Bonk Invitational

Led by some new faces, the North Carolina women's tennis team got the fall season off to a strong start over the weekend at the Bonk Invitational in Cary.

Two of UNC's three doubles teams finished in the top three of their brackets, while three of the six singles brackets were won by Tar Heels.

“We had three winning flights out of (six) singles flights, so that's pretty remarkable — more than any other team,” Coach Brian Kalbas said. “There were some pretty good teams there: Florida, Virginia, LSU. It was a really, really strong tournament."

“Obviously, I’m excited and ecstatic.”

The doubles team of sophomore Jessie Aney and first-year Alexa Graham took their bracket with ease, winning their first two matches (8-1, 8-1) before cruising to an 8-0 victory over Miami's Silvia Fuentes and Yolimar Ogando in the finals.

Playing in their first collegiate tournament, the first-year tandem of Makenna Jones and Sara Daavettila also found success. After winning their first match and losing their second, the pair defeated Virginia's Meghan Kelley and Rosie Johanson to capture a third-place finish.

Of the six brackets of singles play, three were won by Tar Heels — Aney, Daavettila and Graham.

Aney, who was ranked No. 31 in preseason, defeated Florida's Anna Danilina in a tight match to clinch her bracket.

And Daavettila, the preseason No. 1 newcomer in the nation, won her bracket by beating Duke’s Chalena Scholl (6-3, 6-2) in the final. Though she faced an older and more experienced player, Daavettila was unfazed.

“I try not to stress about age or ranking,” she said. “I just go out and play; I think that’s all you can do."

"If they’re better than you on a certain day, so be it. But I try not to let that get in my head.”

Graham showed the poise of a veteran player as she staged a furious comeback to defeat Florida’s Kourtney Keegan and win her bracket.

The impressive performance of North Carolina’s first-years might come as a surprise to some, but not to the Tar Heels themselves.

“No matter what year you are, you set the standard,” Aney said. “I think that we make sure that our team really is the most hardworking and competitive.”

UNC will need its first-year players to continue to perform this season if it wants to meet the program’s lofty standards. North Carolina has won the past four ACC regular-season titles and hasn’t lost a conference match in two seasons.

If anyone is up to the challenge, though, it's this class of first-years.

“They know what they are getting into — they understand what our program is all about,” Aney said.

“They’ve been incredible and are the hardest working class I’ve ever seen.”

@The_Belshe

sports@dailytarheel.com

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