UNC women's tennis cultivates chemistry in Kitty Harrison Invitational

For Head Coach Brian Kalbas and North Carolina women's tennis, everything has always been about the team.

This weekend, UNC and Duke hosted 12 other schools in the 13th annual Kitty Harrison Invitational at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The preseason tournament allowed players like redshirt senior Rachael James-Baker and junior Cassandra Vazquez a chance to be in the spotlight while Kalbas — along with senior Hayley Carter, first-year Sara Daavettila and sophomore Jessie Aney — were in New York at the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.

Volunteer assistant coach Jacob Spreyer took over coaching responsibilities, borrowing a few notes from Kalbas' playbook. Spreyer, who's in his first year, focused on keeping the Tar Heels loose while giving constructive advice.

“I think it is a little unique for me as I’m a little closer to them in age,” Spreyer said. “They can view me a little more as a peer. This weekend we are trying to keep our energy up, boost the team’s spirit and stay positive throughout matches.”

The Tar Heels were consistent through the weekend. James-Baker and Vazquez ended their play with two singles victories Sunday after two singles losses Saturday.

“This is a really great team top to bottom …” James-Baker said. “You take our whole team and we can all play any position. Everyone (could) go to a different school and play one and two in the lineup.”

But there is plenty of room for improvement — namely, North Carolina is focused on materializing team chemistry.

“The fall is definitely the time to cultivate the new teammates,” Vazquez said. “To create that culture is important because every year and every team is different.”

Kalbas has already employed tactics to promote camaraderie. The Tar Heels went to a haunted house before Halloween and painted pottery in Carrboro earlier this year. The team plans to put on another bonding activity — they're deciding between a high-ropes course and an “escape room” activity, Vazquez said.

Through 14 years at UNC, Kalbas knows making the team the central focus is the quickest route to achieving goals.

With this emphasis in mind, Kalbas had last season's Tar Heels read Brett Ledbetter’s "What Drives Winning," a novel about staying the course and enjoying the process of getting better amid a long season. A player gave a presentation on the assigned chapter for each week.

Like always, the preparation for spring is about team improvement and achieving team success — even when three key players and the coach are in another region of the country.

“Of course we miss him,” James-Baker said. “We’ve matured as a team throughout this tournament, and we’ve had to stay strong even without coach being here.”

Depth, preparation and unity. No matter who — or in this case where — they are, Kalbas will take it upon himself to keep the team focused on playing for each other.

@alexzietlow05  

sports@dailytarheel.com