Tar Heels best Irish for another top-15 victory

Gutsy come-from-behind singles wins by senior Jelena Dusiric and sophomore Gina Suarez-Malaguti helped propel North Carolina women’s tennis to a 5-2 victory against No. 12 Notre Dame Saturday.

For the second straight week, No. 5 North Carolina triumphed against a top-15 ranked opponent at home in the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, after beating No. 15 Georgia 4-3.

UNC’s tandem of Suarez-Malaguti and sophomore Zoe De Bruycker defeated Notre Dame’s Kristen Rafael and Julie Sabacinski 8-1.

Then, Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale — ranked eighth nationally — defeated Notre Dame’s Kristy Frilling and Shannon Mathews 8-3 to clinch the point for UNC.

The Fighting Irish came roaring back in the singles matches with two quick victories in straight sets to take the 2-1 lead.

Kristy Frilling was the last Notre Dame competitor to win her match before the Tar Heels hunkered down to win the remaining four matches, all of which were decided in the final set.

“We competed really well,” UNC coach Brian Kalbas said. “The fact that four matches went three sets and we won them all shows a lot of mental toughness and physical conditioning for our team.”

Durisic was the first Tar Heel to win her singles match in a tightly contested battle and teammate Suarez-Malaguti followed suit.

Durisic was familiar with her opponent after beating Chrissie McGaffigan last season as well as earlier in the day in doubles, so she knew to stay calm after losing her first set 2-6.

“I played her last year and it was another three-setter,” Durisic said. “I knew that all I had to do was fight back and, you know, things would come my way.”

The senior rallied to win the next two sets, bringing UNC level with Notre Dame at two points.

Suarez-Malaguti completed a three-set comeback win of her own, defeating Rafael and reclaiming the lead for the Tar Heels.

With UNC back in control, all eyes turned to the final two matches. UNC’s McHale won her first set against Jennifer Kellner, but the Notre Dame freshman battled back to win the second set in a 7-6 (3) tiebreaker.

“At different points in there, it looked like we were really struggling, and it was going to be difficult for us to find that fourth point,” Kalbas said.

But then McHale came through in the clutch in the third and final set of her match, sealing the win for the Tar Heels.

“It’s my first time winning the clinch, so it was really exciting,” McHale said.

The win, which was UNC’s second against teams in the nation’s top 15, gives Kalbas confidence in his team moving forward in the early season.

“We don’t shy away from playing the best teams,” he said. “We want to play the best competition to give ourselves the best chance to improve.”

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