After ousting the North Carolina women’s tennis team in the NCAA Regional final last year, Tennessee came to Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center and covered the visitor sign on the scoring posts with orange signs reading “UT,” as if laying claim to the courts.
But the Lady Volunteers couldn’t make good on that claim Saturday, and No. 15 UNC garnered a hard-fought 5-2 victory, defeating Tennessee for just the second time since 1986.
“I wouldn’t say we were pumped up because we lost to them last time,” senior Aniela Mojzis said. “Coming into it, we were just focused because we were playing a better team and a tougher team and our first competitive team. … This is a very scrappy team, you have to fight. You know they’re going to fight to the end. We have to beat them — they’re not going to give us the match.”
The Tar Heels’ evening match against Elon was canceled due to inclement weather.
UNC coach Brian Kalbas was glad to face No. 18 Tennessee (0-1) so soon in the season.
“To me having a match this tough early, I think, is good because it kind of gets your team ready for what you’re going to face throughout the year,” Kalbas said.
UNC (3-0) jumped to an early advantage, clinching the doubles point in two of three matches.
The nation’s 14th-ranked tandem of Mojzis and Kendall Cline defeated the nation’s 51st-ranked duo of Tennessee’s Sabita Maharaj and Ashley Robards.
The Tar Heel’s No. 2 seed of Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen defeated Melissa Schaub and Ghizela Schutte (8-5), and UNC’s third pair of Caitlin Collins and Alex Jurewitz fell to Blakeley Griffith and Bryce Marable (8-3).
