Seniors on the UNC women's tennis team reflect on their time at UNC after senior night

Before taking the court against Virginia Tech, graduate student Abbey Forbes took the microphone. 

Continuing a Senior Day tradition formerly championed by senior Fiona Crawley, Forbes took center stage on court two to sing the national anthem — her teammates and coaches lined up beside her with their hands pressed over their hearts. 

Unlike Crawley, whose performance last year involved reading the lyrics off her phone and mid-song eruptions of laughter, Forbes’ rendition — a fulfillment of a dream she’s held since the fourth grade — earned looks of awe and dropped jaws from her teammates.

Crawley admitted she was one-upped.

“She was amazing," Crawley said. "She told me a while ago because she was like, ‘Should I do this?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, please make it a tradition. Carry it on.’ So now that puts pressure on the underclassmen. Somebody has to do it next year.” 

The moment symbolized the preservation of recent traditions, yes, but also the closing of a chapter for the North Carolina women’s tennis team’s most decorated senior class — the players responsible for the program’s first ever NCAA title and four ITA National Team Indoor Championships. 

On Sunday, the team celebrated Forbes, Crawley and fellow seniors Anika Yarlagadda, Elizabeth Scotty, Reilly Tran and Sara McClure. To cap off their final regular season match at the Chewning Tennis Center, the No. 6 Tar Heels earned a 4-1 victory over No. 4 Virginia and dominated Virginia Tech, 4-0.  

Although most said their pre-game routine didn't differ much from any other gameday, the graduating Tar Heels still took a moment to reflect on their career. 

Tran said the past four years transformed her into a completely different person. She described her first-year self as a stubborn perfectionist who hated being wrong and being told she wasn’t good at something. 18-year-old Tran cried the entire first week of practice because she was so nervous of messing up. 

She recalled a practice in her first year when she wore an all-blue outfit that her teammates relentlessly made fun of her for, even going so far as to call her a “Smurf.” All in good fun, of course, because Tran said she always idolized the seniors for their leadership and talent.  

But now? Tran said she's helped foster a supportive environment and learns something new every day, even from the team’s first-years. 

“I feel like I’ve really grown into myself,” she said. 

Crawley also fondly remembers the early days of her UNC career — the tiny, scared first-year with long hair, occupying the final place in the team’s singles line-up. 

Even for a group that brought home the program’s first ever NCAA team title, Crawley’s favorite memory has nothing to do with the team’s victory in Orlando. Instead, she looks to a match from her first year.  

On her 19th birthday, North Carolina faced Texas — another school that recruited Crawley — at the indoor tournament in Seattle. The outcome would be determined by both Crawley and Scotty’s singles matches, and Crawley said all she could think about was not being the first-year to lose it for her entire team. 

“[Coach Tyler Thomson] was on my court, and he was like, ‘Just breathe, this is literally what college is about,’” she said. “That match honestly set the tone for the rest of my career.” 

Crawley won, and Scotty followed up with the clinch. Indeed, the match set the tone for her tenure at North Carolina. Since then, she’s become a national champion, a Honda Award winner and the program’s second-ever ITA National Player of the Year. 

“She’s just kept ascending to higher heights,” head coach Brian Kalbas said. “She can do anything she wants to accomplish.” 

Only time will tell if the underclassmen continue the Senior Day traditions Crawley and the other members of her class created, but their impact is already cemented into the brick walls of the Chewning Tennis Center, where recognition of their history-making national title rests in black lettering.

“We’re really grateful that we can play another home match after this because hopefully we’ll host NCAAs,” Yarlagadda said. “But if not, this is my last regular season home match with my best friends. We’re really going to be with each other, embrace each other and be there for each other.” 

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