The No. 3 North Carolina women’s tennis team took on Pittsburgh on Saturday in its next to last ACC fixture of the regular season. The Tar Heels delivered a convincing 7-0 victory to extend their winning streak to six straight matches.
What happened?
It didn’t take long for UNC to establish its dominance over the Panthers. Sara Daavettila and Makenna Jones started the onslaught for the Tar Heels, cruising to a 6-0 doubles win.
Hayley Carter and Maggie Kane followed shortly thereafter with a 6-2 doubles victory of their own, giving UNC the 1-0 lead heading into singles play. The most competitive doubles match, which stood at a 5-4 advantage for Cassandra Vazquez and Alexa Graham, was cut short with the doubles point already in hand.
UNC rolled into singles play and quickly wrapped up the victory. Sophomore Chloe Ouellet-Pizer won her match with ease, earning a 6-0, 6-0 straight-sets victory. Daavettila followed quickly thereafter, defeating her opponent in straight sets as well. Daavettila dropped just one game between her doubles and singles matches.
A number of Tar Heels, namely Carter, struggled early on in singles play. But they eventually flipped the switch and finished strong, helping UNC claim its ninth sweep of the season. Ultimately, none of the Tar Heels needed a third set to record their respective victories.
Who stood out?
Even after the contest was decided, all eyes were on court one, where Carter had the chance to break the ACC record for singles wins. Carter did just that, but the match certainly didn’t go as expected.
The senior looked fatigued from the first serve, struggling to make many of the plays that she is accustomed to making. Carter nearly dropped the first set, barely escaping with a 7-6 win. The second set proved to be an entirely different story, however, as Carter cruised, 6-0, earning her spot atop the record book with her 162nd career singles win.
