The No. 4 UNC women’s tennis team lost to No. 10 Georgia Tech 4-3 on Saturday. The defeat ended the Tar Heels' unblemished ACC record.
What happened?
The No. 4 Tar Heels had a hard start, falling behind 1-0 during doubles. Senior Hayley Carter and sophomore Jessie Aney, the No. 1 doubles team, were the only UNC duo to win doubles (6-2).
The singles pairs also got off to a slow start, with all six courts going back and forth with points. No. 2 Carter and No. 9 first-year Sara Daavettila started to pull ahead, capturing a 3-1 lead while three courts were down and one other was tied. No. 23 Aney won her first round of singles in a tiebreaker.
Only half of the Tar Heels won their first round of singles matches. Daavettila’s singles win put the Tar Heels on the scoreboard, 2-1. Carter’s win tied the score, but first-year No. 40 Makenna Jones’ loss pushed the Jackets up 3-2. Aney’s 7-6, 6-3 win tied the overall score 3-3. Junior Cassandra Vazquez’s loss, however, ended UNC's hopes of keeping their unblemished ACC record and their record of consecutive home wins.
Who stood out?
During her first round of singles, Carter hurt her quad when she was up 3-1. She continued to fight, playing with one leg, and ultimately won both of her singles matches.
When was it decided?
The game was neck and neck up until the final match. Vazquez lost the first round, came back and won the second, and lost the third round.
