North Carolina
Northwestern
No. 10 North Carolina Upsets No. 6 Northwestern, 4-3
February 25, 2006 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 25, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.- Two top ten teams in the country faced off at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill on Saturday, the 10th-ranked North Carolina women's tennis team and the 6th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats. In a battle that took four and a half hours and came down to the last set, the Tar Heels upset the Wildcats, 4-3. North Carolina's record now stands at 11-2, 1-0 on the season, while Northwestern suffered only its second loss of the season, falling to 7-2, 1-0.
"It speaks well for our team," said head coach Brian Kalbas. "We played a great, great team who already beat Texas 6-1 on Texas' home court. So for us to get a win like this at this point in the season is really exciting for our team."
North Carolina jumped off to a 1-0 lead over Northwestern by winning the doubles point. At the one seed, Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long, a duo ranked 10th in the nation, upset the 5th-ranked Cristelle Grier and Alexis Prousis of Northwestern, 8-1. Clinching the doubles point at the three seed was Meg Fanjoy and Austin Smith. The 48th-ranked Tar Heel duo downed Northwestern's Nazlie Ghaza and Jamie Peisel, 8-4, giving Carolina a 1-0 lead.
"It was great for Jenna [Long] and Sara [Anundsen] to set the tone in doubles like they did, winning over the fifth ranked duo in the country," said Kalbas. "And we talked to them about being leaders and setting the tone, and they did that."
In singles action, freshman Austin Smith pushed the Tar Heels to a 2-0 lead after defeating Jamie Peisel at the four seed. Smith improved her record to 20-5 with the 6-1, 6-2 win over Peisel. Freshman Laura Reichert followed right behind Smith, winning over Northwestern's Feriel Essenghir at the five seed. Reichert moved the score to 3-0 with the 6-3, 6-1 win over Essenghir. Her record now stands at 15-4 on the season.
The match came to a three-all tie after Northwestern won the next three singles matches in a row at the one, two and three seeds. Junior Jenna Long, ranked 21st in the nation and playing at the one seed, suffered her sixth loss of the season after falling to No. 23 Cristelle Grier in a hard-fought battle, 6-7 (9-11), 0-6. Also dropping her sixth match of the season was Sara Anundsen at the two seed. No. 62 Anundsen fought a tough battle against Northwestern's No. 36 Georgia Rose, but fell 5-7, 3-6. At the three seed, Caitlin Collins jumped off to a great start over Alexis Prousis, but fell in the third set. No. 15 Prousis won the match over No. 56 Collins, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Freshman Meg Fanjoy delivered the game clinching win at the number six seed. Fanjoy bounced back after dropping the first set to Northwestern's Nazlie Ghaza, 4-6. Fanjoy returned with a 6-2 win in the second set, taking the match into the third set. Playing a competitive third set, Fanjoy defeated Ghaza 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, clinching the match for the Tar Heels at 4-3.
""I am really excited for the freshmen to come through for us at the four, five and six," said Kalbas. "Especially Meg [Fanjoy] having to be the deciding point. Overall, it was an unbelievable team effort. Our top three girls played three amazing players, all ranked real high. And they all played really well. Everyone played extremely hard and we are real excited to have the freshmen come through."
The Tar Heels are back in action on Sunday, Feb. 26 hosting the No. 2 Florida Gators at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill. The match is free and open to the public.
#10 North Carolina 4, #6 Northwestern 3
Doubles:
1. No. 10 Sara Anundsen/Jenna Long (UNC) d. No. 5 Cristelle Grier/Alexis Prousis (NW) 8-1
2. Feriel Esseghir/Georgia Rose (NW) d. No. 47 Caitlin Collins/Laura Reichert (UNC) 8-4
3. No. 48 Meg Fanjoy/Austin Smith (UNC) d. Nazlie Ghaza/Jamie Peisel (NW) 8-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles:
1. No. 10 Cristelle Grier (NW) d. No. 21 Jenna Long (UNC) 7-6 (11-9), 6-0
2. No. 36 Georgia Rose (NW) d. No. 62 Sara Anundsen (UNC) 7-5, 6-2
3. No. 15 Alexis Prousis (NW) d. No. 56 Caitlin Collins (UNC) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
4. Austin Smith (UNC) d. Jamie Peisel (NW) 6-1, 6-2
5. Laura Reichert (UNC) d. Feriel Essenghir (NW) 6-3, 6-1
6. Meg Fanjoy (UNC) d. Nazlie Ghaza (NW) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 *
Order of finish: 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6
* Clinched the match
Players Mentioned
