Glaring sunlight, unpredictable wind and even frigid temperatures couldn’t stop the North Carolina women’s tennis team on Saturday.
In its first outdoor match of the season, No. 2 UNC crushed East Carolina and UNC-Greensboro.
To the delight of coach Brian Kalbas, the Tar Heels, with their highest national ranking in program history, bested both opponents while battling slower courts and unwieldy bounces.
“You have to deal with all the elements, and it’s a lot slower. Timing and footwork are more of an emphasis,” Kalbas said. “But we had good energy and took care of business.”
The day began on a chilly note, but UNC claimed the doubles point from ECU with three victories. The Tar Heels also won all six singles matches, giving them a 7-0 victory over ECU.
Saturday night the temperature dipped into the 30s, but UNC held commanding leads over UNC-G in both doubles matches and singles.
Sophie Grabinski and Jelena Durisic, the only doubles pair to lose to UNC-G, struggled due to a lack of preparation for the rough outdoor conditions.
“We started practicing two days ago and coach said, ‘You guys are outside,’ and we were like, ‘Oh, God,’” Durisic said. “Indoors the surface feels a little bit faster; it’s a cleaner ball. Outside you have a lot more bounces and different spins.”
But Kalbas was confident in his team’s preparation and emphasized the importance of playing outdoors.
“The rest of our season is going to be out, so I think it was imperative that we got outside and got used to playing,” Kalbas said. “I think it was a good experience for us.”
Kalbas wanted his team playing outside before facing N.C. State and Florida in the coming weeks, both of which should be outdoor matches.
UNC has proven it can dominate on indoor courts. Last week, the women’s tennis team dethroned top-seeded Duke in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
With that assurance, the Tar Heels conquered the elements and took down ECU and UNC-G, further stating their right to that No. 2 ranking.
Having dropped only two singles games Saturday, No. 41 Sanaz Marand is responsible for much of UNC’s success.
“The outside suits my game a little more,” Marand said.
Coupled with Saturday’s victory and the tournament success, Marand said she was proud of the team and what they have already accomplished.
“It just shows how much we can do,” Marand said. “It’s the beginning of the season, and we have so much confidence in each other and in ourselves that I feel like we can do great things this year.”
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.