Tar Heels fall in ACC semifinals

CARY — Something changed at the Cary Tennis Center around noon Saturday.

Maybe it was the increasing winds. Maybe it was the rays of sunshine that began to peer through the ceiling of clouds. Or maybe Georgia Tech just raised its game to a higher level.

Whatever the reason, the Yellow Jackets stole the momentum from the North Carolina women’s team and refused to surrender it, coming back to win the ACC semifinal match 4-2 and marking the second time in six days that the Tar Heels (20-9) had fallen to Ga. Tech. The Jackets (19-3) went on to win the ACC title Sunday.

At the beginning of the match, the fourth-seeded Tar Heels seemed to carry over their momentum from Friday’s 4-0 victory against fifth-seeded Maryland (11-11).

The second doubles team of sophomores Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen led the charge with an 8-2 win, and the tandem of Caitlin Collins and Tanja Markovic secured an 8-6 win to clinch the doubles point for UNC at flight three.

Then, needing wins in three of the six singles matches to advance to the final, the Tar Heels parlayed the doubles-point momentum to capture three of the first four decided first sets — Kendall Cline (flight two), Collins (fight five) and Charlotte Tansill (flight six). Things seemed to be falling into place for the Tar Heels to avenge their 5-2 loss to the Yellow Jackets on April 17 in Atlanta.

“I thought we had the momentum,” said UNC coach Brian Kalbas. “But I knew that they’re very good in singles, and they came back (Friday against Florida State) after losing the doubles point. I knew that there was still a lot of tennis to be played, but I felt that having the momentum for us was critical.”

WOMEN'S TENNIS UNC 2 Georgia Tech 4 Maryland 0 UNC 4

The tide began to turn in the third-singles battle between Long and Ga. Tech’s Kelly Anderson. Long had opportunities to snatch the first set, leading 5-4 and 6-5, but Anderson extended it into a decisive tiebreaker.

And with the tiebreaker knotted at eight, Long hit two unforced errors into the net, dropping the set. Anderson went on to quickly wrap up the match by cruising through the second set, 6-1.

“I think she just didn’t give (Long) a chance,” said Ga. Tech coach Bryan Shelton about the second set. “She just was rock solid, kept her composure and just stayed disciplined — stuck with her game plan and just executed.”

The Jackets tallied two more points with straight-set triumphs. At flight one, Ga. Tech’s Kristi Miller topped UNC’s Aniela Mojzis 6-2, 6-1, and Alison Silverio defeated Anundsen 6-2, 6-2 at flight four.

“(Silverio) played better on the key points,” Anundsen said. “I did have a lot of chances, and so many games went to deuce. It was unfortunate I couldn’t pull some more out.”

With Cline having already won at second singles for the Tar Heels, the attention of the crowd focused on fifth singles between Collins for North Carolina and Lyndsay Shosho for Georgia Tech.

Shosho had roared back to win the second set to even the match, and she held a 40-love advantage while leading 4-2 in the third. But Collins saved the first two game points and appeared to even the game at deuce when she called a Shosho forehand long.

The chair official, however, saw it differently and overruled Collins’ call to give Shosho a commanding 5-2 lead. She would go on to win the match, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, on a perfectly-placed cross-court passing shot.

“I was giving her too many easy points, setting up high forehands,” Collins said. “I was just missing my shots. At this level, you can’t miss your shots.”

North Carolina will now await its NCAA Tournament fate, and the 13th-ranked Tar Heels will hope to host a tournament regional for the fourth consecutive year.

Before then, however, they will look to regain what disappeared around 11:45 a.m. Saturday — momentum.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.