No. 2 UNC women's tennis takes down Michigan, 5-2

The No. 2 North Carolina women’s tennis team beat Michigan, 5-2, on Sunday.

What happened?

UNC (13-1) traveled to Ann Arbor and competed against Michigan (4-2), winning five of seven points for the victory. The match began with UNC taking the first two doubles matches — which extended its record to 14-0 on the season in doubles matches. 

Senior Jessie Aney and junior Alexa Graham defeated their opponents, 6-1, first, then teammates Alle Sanford and Sara Daavettila came out on top, 6-3, to grab the early advantage point. 

The first singles match to finish was Daavettila versus Fahey. Fahey beat Daavettila, 6-1, 6-2, which gave Michigan its first win of the afternoon.

Following the loss, Aney defeated Lorenzini, 6-0, 6-3, then Sanford lost, 6-3, 6-3. This was the last time Michigan would score for the rest of the afternoon.

With the game tied, UNC took over. Graham beat Minor, 6-4, 7-6 (3), and Jones won against Pairone, 7-6(6), 6-1. Finally, in the last singles match to finish Morra defeated Lommer, 7-6(3), 6-2, giving the Tar Heels a 5-2 win.

Who stood out?

North Carolina head coach Brian Kalbas said today’s win was primarily a team victory, but that Aney and Graham were the ones that really went above and beyond, especially in their doubles and singles performance.

“Obviously, you know, Jessie and Alexa won doubles and singles, so I’d say those two really did an incredible job for us,” Kalbas said, “Jessie got the first singles point on the board, Alexa got down 5-3 in the second against a girl who won NCAAs a couple of years ago, and then came back and won the second set in a tie breaker.”

Why does it matter?

The match against Michigan matters for the Tar Heels because it was a solid road win. The win was also another opportunity for UNC to see how its progressing as the team moves into ACC play, the tougher stretch of the season. 

“We’re still a work in progress right now, we’re still trying to get better, we’re trying to make our team just more complete," Kalbas said. "There’s still things that we need to get to work on and improve and these matches on the road definitely gives us those opportunities.” 

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels will play N.C. State on Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. in Raleigh.

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