Sophia Patel’s shouts echoed through the quiet Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center as she yelled to her teammates on other courts. Teammates Elizabeth Scotty and Alle Sanford waited in anticipation as Kacie Harvey and Patel raced to win their matches to seal the North Carolina victory.
Finally, the sophomore Patel finished off ECU's Ho Chiao Hsia in a 6-4, 6-2 win.
"Point," Patel exclaimed.
Her teammates erupted in cheers, celebrating the Tar Heels' 4-0 sweep over ECU on Saturday morning. UNC went on to shut out UNCC to complete the doubleheader, securing both victories to remain a perfect 12-0 in 2019-20.
Other than the odd dropped set, the team was perfect with a pair of 4-0 wins. The Tar Heels won both doubles points and six straight singles matches from Patel, Elizabeth Scotty, Alexa Graham, Sara Daavettila and Alle Sanford.
The full UNC tennis family was on display Saturday, with nine different athletes competing in singles play. The depth of the UNC women's tennis team is one of the group's biggest assets and head coach Brian Kalbas used Saturday's matches to showcase players that don't always see action.
"Kacie and Anika and Sophia got in, and it was great for them because we have a lot of depth, and we have great players down the line," Kalbas said. "We need to use these matches as opportunities for everybody to get match ready."
Patel, a sophomore, was one of those players who doesn't always see match play. But she recorded victories in doubles and singles play on Saturday and was leading in her other two unfinished matches. Sanford, who clinched two singles wins of her own, smiled happily as she talked about playing doubles with Patel.
"It was fun for me getting to play with Soph, who I haven't gotten to play with before," Sanford said. "And have a great doubles match and get a win and smile."