North Carolina
Virginia
No. 5 Tar Heels Gain Fourth ACC Victory With Win Over No. 43 Virginia
March 26, 2006 | Women's Tennis
March 26, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. - The No. 5 North Carolina women's tennis team, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, earned the doubles point and won five of six singles matches to top the No. 43 Virginia Cavaliers, 6-1. The Tar Heels move to 19-3 on the season and 4-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while the Cavaliers move to 8-6, 2-3.
North Carolina earned the doubles point with victories at the one and three seeds. No. 6 Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long took on No. 15 Lori Stern and Kristen James at the one seed. The Tar Heel pair garnered their 26th victory of the season with an 8-5 win over Stern and James. The duo also clinched the doubles point for North Carolina. Making their first appearance in dual competition, Tanja Markovic and Austin Smith competed at the three seed against Amanda Rales and Caroline Hammond, downing the Cavalier tandem, 8-6.
Carolina carried their doubles momentum into singles competition, winning the first two singles matches at the three and one seeds. No. 95 Sara Anundsen faced Rachel DelPriore at the three seed. Anundsen cruised past DelPriore, 6-1, 7-6, taking the score to a Carolina 2-0 lead. Ranked 32nd in the nation, Jenna Long battled against Douglas Wink after dropping the first set, 6-1. But Long battled back to win the match, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. Long's overall season record stands at 24-9. Austin Smith dropped her ninth match of the season to Lori Stern at the four seed, falling 6-4, 6-3 to Stern.
Freshman Laura Reichert clinched the match for the Tar Heels at the four seed. She won the fourth point for North Carolina with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lindsey Pereira, moving the score to 4-1. Junior Caitlin Collins, ranked 58th in singles, forced her match into the third set after winning the first set 6-2, but dropping the second set, 1-6. Collins came out on top with her 22nd singles win of the season, winning the third set, 6-1. Collins kept her six-game win streak alive with her win over James and moved her season record to 22-11. Senior Tanja Markovic closed out the match at the six seed. Markovic defeated Amanda Rales, 6-1, 7-6, to move Carolina to a 6-1 win over Virginia.
"It was an incredible effort on our team," said head coach Brian Kalbas. "Virginia has great competitors and they [Virginia] made us work for the win. We got better because we had to work and it only helped us. Overall, the whole team had a tremendous effort and I feel real good about the two wins this weekend."
The Tar Heels will next face No. 16 Wake Forest at home on Wednesday, March 29. The match is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
No. 5 North Carolina 6, No. 43 Virginia 1
Doubles:
1. No. 6 Sara Anundsen/Jenna Long (UNC) d. No. 15 Lori Stern/Kristen James (VA) 8-5
2. Douglas Wink/Rachel DelPriore (VA) d. Caitlin Collins/Laura Reichert (UNC) 8-0
3. Tanja Markovic/Austin Smith (UNC) d. Amanda Rales/Caroline Hammond (VA) 8-6
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles:
1. No. 32 Jenna Long (UNC) d. Douglas Wink (VA) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 58 Caitlin Collins (UNC) d. Kristen James (VA) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
3. No. 95 Sara Anundsen (UNC) d. Rachel DelPriore (VA) 6-1, 7-6
4. Lori Stern (VA) d. Austin Smith (UNC) 6-4, 6-3
5. Laura Reichert (UNC) d. Lindsey Pereira (VA) 6-4, 6-3 *
6. Tanja Markovic (UNC) d. Amanda Rales (VA) 6-1, 7-6
Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 5, 2, 6
* Clinched the match
Players Mentioned
