But the 7-0 score didn't tell the whole story of the North Carolina women's tennis team's victory against N.C. State on Sunday at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. For the first time this season, the 17th-ranked Tar Heels were tested.
"I think it's very important, especially before national indoors, to be tested a little bit," said UNC coach Jen Callen. "And (State) definitely came out very strong today."
The top two doubles teams for North Carolina (3-0, 1-0 in the ACC) faced stiffer competition than they saw in their first two matches of the season, but they still pulled away. Marlene Mejia and Aniela Mojzis escaped a late rally to defeat Katrina Gildemeister and Kristin Nicholla 8-4.
At the No. 2 doubles spot, UNC's Julie Rotondi and Kate Pinchbeck had early trouble with their State counterparts. But the duo went to a finesse game and won 8-3.
The No. 3 doubles match was the most competitive contest of the day. UNC's Kendall Cline and Lee Bairos came from behind to take an 8-7 lead, but Jen Jassawalla and Loni Worsley won the next game to tie the match. In the tiebreaker, Bairos got her overheads going and Cline came up with an ace to win the match for the Tar Heels, 9-8 (8-3).
"We started off a little bit slow," Cline said. "I didn't really have a great serving game, so we were down a break from the get-go. But I feel really safe with Lee up at net, because pretty much anything that comes back she's going to demolish."
Bairos brought her strong serve-and-volley game to the singles side, making quick work of Jassawalla, 6-2, 6-0. Mojzis and Pinchbeck also cruised, winning 6-0, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-0 respectively.
In the longest match of the day, UNC's Caroline Hill outlasted Worsley in a three-set marathon, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Hill got frustrated in the second set and committed a number of unforced errors, but she calmed down and went to her strength -- rallying. In the end, Hill's solid baseline game made the difference.
Mejia was challenged somewhat by Gildemeister at the top position. Mejia, the 11th-ranked singles player in the nation, struggled early against Gildemeister's powerful game. But Mejia kept her opponent on the move with well-placed groundstrokes, and held on for a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
