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The Daily Tar Heel

No. 2 UNC women's tennis beats N.C. State

Katrina Tsang came away with a win in her singles match against N.C. State. DTH/Andrew Dunn
Katrina Tsang came away with a win in her singles match against N.C. State. DTH/Andrew Dunn

A huge smile cracked the intense face of Katrina Tsang as she pounded away the final serve of her single’s match.

She worked unceasingly to clinch the win, but North Carolina’s clean  7-0 score against N.C. State would not hint at the battle its players fought.

No. 2 UNC (13-1, 1-0 ACC) bested the Wolfpack for its third straight 7-0 victory, and the 12th consecutive match defeating N.C. State in regular season play.

“Iron sharpens iron,” Hans Olsen, N.C. State’s head coach, said. “The ACC is a strong level of competition. The great teams are making the good teams even better.”

The afternoon began with doubles matches. UNC’s No. 2 doubles partners Sanaz Marand and Sophie Grabinski won their match 8-4.

UNC’s No. 1 doubles team, Tsang and Shinann Featherston didn’t fare as well. Battling back and fourth with N.C. State for the lead, they ultimately yielded 6-8 to Sandhya Nagaraj and Berkeley Brock.

Jocelyn Ffriend and Haley Hemm, North Carolina’s third doubles pair, effortlessly won their match 8-1.

 “We didn’t make any unforced errors,” Ffriend said. “We both stepped up our return game.”

The pair played extremely well together, working to cover the court and back each other on defense.

“We are best friends, so that definitely helps,” Ffriend said. “We’re very in tune with each other.”

The two cemented their win quickly, and, coupled with Marand and Grabinski’s win, earned UNC the doubles point.

North Carolina coach Brian  Kalbas said he was nervous going into the match because the Tar Heels had not played in 11 days.

“I was worried about making sure we were competitively sharp,” Kalbas said.

His team eased his fears. Only one loss in doubles play marred UNC’s victory over the Wolfpack, with the Tar Heels sweeping singles play.

Sophie Grabinski’s match went 6-7, 6-2, and had to continue into a third set. With the entire team lining the court cheering her on, Grabinski seized the tiebreak 8-4.

This match ended the night and the sun set on the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center with the energy from UNC’s victory against its neighboring rival still radiating on the courts.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.

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