Kate Pinchbeck of the seventh-ranked North Carolina women's tennis team improved her record this year to an impressive 18-0 on Tuesday.
And she wasn't even thinking about it.
Pinchbeck's teamates followed her focused example, beating No. 23 Notre Dame 6-1 at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
"It's a scary number," Pinchbeck said. "I'm just playing one match at a time. You just cannot think of the outcome."
Pinchbeck, playing No. 2 singles, beat Notre Dame's Nina Vaughan 6-1, 6-4.
Pinchbeck effectively sealed the second set, and later the match, by winning a break that put her up 5-4.
"The thing about Kate is that she doesn't let up in a match," said UNC coach Jen Callen. "She's always going to step in and never give the free points."
The rest of the team seemed to follow Pinchbeck's tenacious yet relaxed example, especially UNC's Julie Rotondi, who beat Lindsey Green 6-1, 6-2.
"Its obvious how much better I play when I am relaxed," Rotondi said. "Once I stopped worrying about the results, I started playing well."
