Tar Heels sweep ?nal home weekend

The No. 3 North Carolina women’s tennis team faced cold weather on Saturday, and blazing heat, ranked opponents and a slew of controversial calls on Sunday.

But nothing was going to stop the Tar Heels from sending senior Jelena Durisic off with a victory on her senior weekend.

The Tar Heels easily dispatched No. 12 Georgia Tech 5-2 on Saturday, winning the doubles point and claiming the necessary three singles matches in straight-set wins by Durisic, Gina Suarez-Malaguti and Zoe De Bruycker.

But UNC (20-4, 9-1 ACC) found itself in a battle with No. 11 Clemson on Sunday that would end in a three-set tiebreaker.

After winning the doubles point, UNC trailed the Tigers by a score of 1-2, when the tide turned in the Tar Heels’ favor.

Tessa Lyons’ sheer will to win carried her through a difficult match in her three-set 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 victory, which evened the overall match score at two.

“Today was different from most of my matches because I don’t think I played that cleanly,” Lyons said. “But it definitely helped that it was Jelena’s senior day because I would never want to lose for her, or for this whole team.”

Lauren McHale then won her match against Caroline Magnusson in straight sets, vaulting the Tar Heels to a 3-2 lead.

McHale was able to defeat her opponent by keeping the ball deep and coming into the net at the opportune time to hit winners, something she said the coaches had told her to do more often.

She also credited the win to her teammate Durisic.

“It was really hot out, and we all just said no matter what the circumstance, if you’re down match point, if you’re up, just do it for Jelena,” McHale said.

Nelly Ciolkowski defeated Suarez-Malaguti in a grueling three-set match that saw several disputed points and controversial overturns, tying the score at three.

UNC’s De Bruycker outlasted No. 10 Josipa Bek in a third-set tiebreaker to emphatically clinch the 4-3 win for North Carolina.

Bek cramped up just after knotting the tiebreaker at six, and had to take an injury timeout. Visibly limping, she lost the next point and then double faulted, giving De Bruycker the victory.

Clemson’s Keri Wong effectively took Durisic out of her comfort zone and won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

“She plays a lot of shots that are out of Jelena’s strikezone with slices and high balls,” UNC coach Brian Kalbas said.

Despite the singles loss, Durisic won three of her four matches during her final home weekend as a Tar Heel.

“She’s having an amazing year,” Kalbas said. “She has the best dual match record of anyone on the team, and really has moved up in our lineup and really has been a strong point for us.”

Kalbas and his team are cognizant of the adversity Durisic has faced and overcome in her four years at UNC, including a torn ACL her freshman year that affected her game and confidence in her sophomore and junior years, Kalbas said.

“I said to her and the team before the match, it’s amazing to see how far someone has come in their career,” Kalbas said.

Durisic, although disappointed about her individual performance, said she was proud of how her teammates fought for her.

“We’re basically a big family,” Durisic said. “I’m extremely proud of them for their fight and for their confidence when we needed it … That’s what team is all about to begin with. We’re all here for each other and I appreciate them coming through.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.