University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
Women's Tennis Remains Perfect in ACC
April 12, 2002 | Women's Tennis
April 12, 2002
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Carolina clinched a No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament with a 5-2 victory over Clemson Friday, leaving Sunday's match with Duke as a battle for first place in the ACC and the No. 1 seed in next weekend's championship.
The No. 7 Tar Heels wrapped up the match early, taking the doubles point from the 39th-ranked Tigers and winning three quick singles matches in straight sets. Julie Rotondi clinched the victory with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ann Stiglic at flight three. Rotondi credited the Tar Heels' strong schedule with preparing the squad for tough teams like Clemson and has lofty expectations for the remainder of the season and postseason.
"All these matches are going to make us tougher and tougher," Rotondi said. "We believe we can beat anybody. We would talk about a national championship at the beginning of the season, but now we actually believe it."
The Clemson match was Carolina's 12th victory in 15 matches against ranked teams this season in which the Tar Heels are 19-3. Sunday's match against Duke will be one of the toughest yet, though, as the Tar Heels have already lost to Duke in a non-conference tournament earlier in the season.
Head Coach Jen Callen believes the team is better prepared now, as is indicative of their 12-match winning streak.
"The team is playing a lot better now," Callen said. "They have more confidence than they did earlier in the season. They know they have to play."
Rotondi echoed Callen's sentiments and is ready for the regular season finale on Sunday.
"We thought Duke was a lot better than they were," Rotondi said of the first match. "We're a lot closer as a team now, we're a lot deeper now and we're match tough now. We've been waiting for this since last year."
Rotondi was referring to last year's season finale in which the Tar Heels lost a 4-3 heartbreaker in the final set of the match. Sunday's match starts at 1 p.m. at Duke.
Singles:
1. Alix Lacelarie (CU) d. Marlene Mejia (UNC), 7-6 (7-1), 6-2
2. Kate Pinchbeck (UNC) d. Anna Savitskaya (CU), 6-1, 6-2
3. Julie Rotondi (UNC) d. Ana Stiglic (CU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Aniela Mojzis (UNC) d. Laurence Jayet (CU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Lee Bairos (UNC) d. Iona Paun (CU), 6-2, 4-6, (10-7)
6. Nilena Stanoycheva (CU) d. Kendall Cline (UNC), 2-6, 6-2, (10-4)
Doubles:
1. Lacelarie/Jayet (CU) d. Mejia/Rotondi (UNC), 8-3
2. Mojzis/Cline (UNC) d. Anna Dolinska/Savitskaya, 8-1
3. Bairos/Pinchbeck (UNC) d. Richele LeSaldo/Stanoycheva, 8-2
