North Carolina
Miami
No. 3 Tar Heels Edged By No. 10 Hurricanes
March 17, 2006 | Women's Tennis
March 17, 2006
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The University of North Carolina women's tennis team, ranked No. 3 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, fell to No. 10 Miami Hurricanes, Friday. The loss marked the first Atlantic Coast Conference defeat for the Tar Heels, who moved to 17-3, 2-1 for the 2006 season, while the Hurricanes moved to 11-3, 4-0 with the win.
After fierce competition at all three doubles seeds, Miami took a 1-0 lead over the Tar Heels, clinching the doubles point with wins from the one and two seeds. At the one seed, ranked No. 7 nationally, Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen fell to No. 13 Melissa Applebaum and Audra Cohen. The Tar Heel duo battled hard over the Hurricanes tandem, but fell in a 9-8 (7-5) tie-break. No. 45 Meg Fanjoy and Austin Smith competed at the three seed, defeating Caren Seenauth and Patricia Starzyk, 9-7. Fanjoy and Smith improved their doubles record to 23-8 overall with the win. Miami's Audrey Banada and Monika Dancevic downed UNC's Caitlin Collins and Tanja Markovic, 8-2, at the two seed.
Miami won the first three singles matches, clinching the match for the Hurricanes at 4-0. No. 25 Jenna Long fell in the first set to No. 4 Audra Cohen, but battled the back in the second set, bringing it to a 4-all tie. Long suffered her eighth loss of the season, falling 6-1, 6-4. Competing at the three seed, No. 97 Sara Anundsen fell to No. 112 Monika Dancevic, 6-2, 6-0, pushing Miami to a 3-0 lead over the Tar Heels. Clinching the match for the Gators at the four seed was Audrey Banada. Banada battled off against Austin Smith, who fell 6-1, 6-3.
At the two and six seeds, No. 64 Caitlin Collins and Meg Fanjoy, both gained wins for the Tar Heels, defeating No. 102 Melissa Applebaum and Caren Seenauth, respectively. Collins improved her season record to 19-11. Freshman Laura Reichert put up a tough fight over Miami's Patricia Starzyk, but fell 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
"We are proud of the team and the way they competed," said head coach Brian Kalbas. "Miami played well and competed hard. The match could have gone either way for us; in the beginning, we had an opportunity to win the doubles point. The point gave Miami momentum, which they carried over to singles play. But, we are proud of our effort and we can take this match and learn from it."
The Tar Heels are back in action at Virginia Tech and Virginia on March 25 and 26. North Carolina will be back home March 29 to host Wake Forest.
No. 10 Miami 5, No. 3 North Carolina 2
Singles
1. No. 4 Audra Cohen (UM) d. No. 25 Jenna Long (UNC) 6-1, 6-4
2. No. 64 Caitlin Collins (UNC) d. No. 102 Melissa Applebaum (UM) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
3. No. 112 Monika Dancevic (UM) d. No. 97 Sara Anundsen (UNC) 6-2, 6-0
4. Audrey Banada (UM) d. Austin Smith (UNC) 6-1, 6-3 *
5. Patricia Starzyk (UM) d. Laura Reichert (UNC) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Meg Fanjoy (UNC) d. Caren Seenauth (UM) 7-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 2, 5, 6
* Clinched the match
Doubles
1. No. 13 Melissa Applebaum/Audra Cohen (UM) d. No. 7 Sara Anundsen/Jenna Long (UNC) 9-8 (7-5)
2. Audrey Banada/Monika Dancevic (UM) d. Caitlin Collins/Tanja Markovic (UNC) 8-2
3. No. 45 Meg Fanjoy/Austin Smith (UNC) d. Caren Seenauth/Patricia Starzyk (UM) 9-7
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Players Mentioned
