Before this weekend, the Miami women's tennis team hadn't lost a doubles point all season. The No. 6 North Carolina team had only lost three.
But on Saturday, UNC coach Brian Kalbas switched up his doubles lineup, pairing Ashley Dai and Whitney Kay at No. 2 doubles, while Caroline Price and Laura Slater matched up on court three.
Though Price and Slater eventually fell to Stephanie Wagner and Lina Lileikite 8-4 , a strong performance by Dai and Kay grabbed the Tar Heels an 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles, clinching the doubles point for the team en route to a 5-2 win against Miami — the Hurricanes' first ACC loss of the season.
“Miami does a lot of unconventional things, and we tried to put combinations out there that could be more versatile to counter what they do well,” Kalbas said.
“The team bought in to what we were trying to do and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles did a great job of making them uncomfortable.”
On Sunday, Price and Kay returned to each other’s side in doubles play, dominating Florida State’s (11-9, 4-6 ACC) Mia Vriens and Daniela Schippers 8-1 . UNC beat the Seminoles 7-0.
Kay and Price are currently the No.11 doubles pair in the country.
The freshman pair of Jamie Loeb and Hayley Carter , the No. 3 doubles tandem in the nation
, earned doubles wins against Miami’s No. 23 pair of Clementia Riobueno and Monique Albuquerque. And on Sunday, it was Florida State’s Daneika Borthwick and Kerrie Cartwright who fell prey to the freshmen phenoms.