No. 1 UNC women’s tennis celebrates Senior Night with 7-0 victory over Georgia Tech

In its last home match at the Chapel Hill Tennis Club, the No 1. North Carolina women's tennis team defeated Georgia Tech 7-0 on Senior Night to improve to 23-0 (12-0 ACC) on the season.

What happened?

UNC started off strong in doubles winning, all three matches to claim the doubles point. No. 1 doubles duo Elizabeth Scotty and Fiona Crawley put on a clinic on court one with a swift 6-0 victory.

After being down 3-2, seniors Cameron Morra and Ally Sanford picked up a hard-fought 6-3 win at number two doubles to secure the doubles point.

First-year Carson Tanguilig and sophomore Reilly Tran were in a 5-5 duel on court three, but since UNC already won in doubles, the match was not needed to be finished. In singles, Crawley made quick work on court four winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0. Scotty followed right after with a 6-0, 6-4 straight-set victory to put UNC up 3-0.

To secure the crucial fourth point, junior Anika Yarlagadda came in at line six and won 6-0, 6-3 to win the match for the Tar Heels.

The remaining three matches went into tie-breakers. Tran completed her tie-breaker first with a tight 10-7 victory, and Tanguilig won her matchup to give North Carolina the 6-0 lead.

Then all eyes were on Morra on court one. In an electric third set tie-breaker, Morra came out on top 10-7 to complete the sweep for the Tar Heels as they beat Georgia Tech 7-0.

Who stood out?

Crawley was flawless on the day, not dropping a game in her singles or doubles match. Her consistency and power was too much to handle for the Yellow Jackets and she stayed unbeaten in singles play this season.

Scotty was right behind her as she didn’t drop a set in both of her matches and teamed up with Crawley to win line one doubles in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

However, the seniors in Morra and Sanford came in clutch for the Tar Heels as their come-from-behind doubles victory on court two gave UNC the 1-0 lead and momentum heading into singles play.

When was it decided?

UNC jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to the excellence of Crawley and Scotty. Each won their singles match in convincing fashion after helping win the doubles point.

With Morra, Tran and Tanguilig in close matches, Yarlagadda put any faint doubts to rest as she easily won her match in straight-sets before Georgia Tech could have any hope of mounting a comeback.

Morra put in the final dagger with her three set victory on court one to win 7-0.

Why does it matter?

With its convincing win over Georgia Tech, UNC women’s tennis continues its dominant season in its quest for its sixth consecutive ACC Women’s Tennis Championship.

North Carolina keeps steamrolling through the ACC, winning nine out of their 12 matches giving up no more than one point. 

Even after securing the match with three straight-set victories, the Tar Heels remained focused to win all three tie-breakers, showing that they can win the close matches that could decide a team’s postseason fate.

Led by No. 1 doubles Crawley and Scotty and superb play at line one singles by Morra, the Tar Heels are on the top of their game heading towards the postseason and continue to show why they are the best team in the country.

When do they play next?

For their regular season finale, UNC travels to Durham to face No. 10 Duke on Friday at 6 p.m.  

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