Tar Heels stumble in Sweet 16 weekend

The dual-match season ended for the North Carolina men’s and women’s tennis teams last week in the NCAA tournament round of 16 held in Athens, Ga.

But the end is just the beginning for a few Tar Heels.

The 15th-seeded men lost 4-0 to No. 2 Georgia and the No. 7 women fell 4-2 to No. 10 Miami.

“We had a great run and I’m very proud of our team,” men’s coach Sam Paul said. “We played a great match against Tennessee and we played one of our most solid matches of the year against College of Charleston.

“But I don’t think we’re ever happy when we lose, and we definitely did not play our best match (against Georgia).”

Georgia’s home-court advantage and stellar play proved to be too much for the Tar Heels.

“Their coach said to us, ‘That’s the best match we’ve played all year,’” Paul recalled. “We didn’t have a great day, but I think the crowd may have affected some of the kids’ performances.”

While the men faced a large pro-Georgia crowd, the women battled the weather and injuries.

A foot injury kept Lauren McHale out of singles play, and rain delayed the start of the match, forcing the Tar Heels to play until 1:30 a.m.

“We got off to a really good start in doubles, but unfortunately we were just so excited and so motivated that we weren’t able to sustain it,” coach Brian Kalbas said. “I think if we started on time, things would have been a little bit different, but you can’t control that.”

Freshman Caroline Price and sophomore Tessa Lyons both won singles matches, but stars Zoe de Bruycker and Shinann Featherston struggled.

“Miami played with a lot of emotion and a lot of intensity,” Kalbas said.

“This time around, they competed extremely well and you could tell that they were very motivated to beat us.”

Several Tar Heels will compete in the NCAA individual championships. Jose Hernandez, and de Bruycker and McHale from the women’s team start the NCAA singles tournament Wednesday.

Hernandez and Joey Burkhardt, along with Featherston and McHale, will compete in the doubles tournament starting Thursday.

“I think we’re ready, and I think we’re really excited just to get back on the court,” Featherston said. “We’ve trained really hard, and we’re really happy to be in the NCAA tournament.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.