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Notre Dame
No. 11 UNC Drops Heartbreaker To No. 6 Notre Dame, 4-3
May 18, 2007 | Women's Tennis
May 18, 2007
ATHENS, Ga. --- The No. 11 North Carolina women's tennis team could not hold off a furious rally by No. 6 Notre Dame, as the Tar Heels fell to the Fighting Irish 4-3 in the NCAA round of 16 Friday at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Seniors Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen picked up singles wins for Carolina in their final career dual match at UNC.
Carolina (23-9) got off to a strong start in doubles play, easily taking the point with wins at the No. 2 and 3 positions. No. 29 Caitlin Collins and Sanaz Marand defeated No. 22 Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft at No. 2, 8-3. Minutes later, Austin Smith and Meg Fanjoy finished off Cosmina Coibanu and Kali Krisik 8-4 at No. 3 to clinch the point. Long and Anundsen, the nation's No. 2 tandem, led No. 12 Catrina and Christian Thompson 6-4 when play was suspended.
The teams were faced with a lengthy delay before starting singles play, as the Miami-Southern Cal match ran long. Once the teams got back on the court, it was the Fighting Irish (28-3) who seized the momentum, winning the opening set in four of six matches.
No. 5 singles was the first match off, with No. 69 Coibanu defeating No. 102 Smith, 6-4, 6-3. Carolina regained the lead quickly, however, as Anundsen dispatched Tefft 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4. The final match to be decided in straight sets went to Notre Dame, as Colleen Rielley knocked off Collins 6-4, 7-6 (3).
The final three matches on the McWhorter Courts all went down to the wire. Long, the No. 10 singles player in the country, rallied from down a set at No. 1 to gut out a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 30 Catrina Thompson, leaving Carolina within one win of moving to the NCAA quarterfinals.
At No. 6, No. 50 Marand split the first two sets with Brook Buck and opened the final frame with a 3-0 lead. With Marand battling leg cramps throughout the third set, Buck rallied to tie the score at 3. Marand responded to push her lead back to 5-3 with a chance to serve for the match. Buck, however, would break serve and win the final four games of the match to secure a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win.
That left No. 2 singles to decide the match. No. 45 Tsang rallied from down 5-2 to take the first set from No. 124 Christian Thompson 7-5 before dropping the second frame 6-4. Thompson then raced out to a 5-1 lead in the final set before Tsang charged back once again. The Raleigh, N.C., freshman fought off a pair of match points at 5-2 to break Thompson and then held serve to make it 5-4. But Thompson would hold serve at 5-4, as a Tsang forehand just missed wide, sending the Irish into the quarterfinals.
Despite the tough loss, the season will continue for several Tar Heels. Long, Tsang and Marand will compete in the NCAA singles tournament, while Long and Anundsen as well as Collins and Marand will compete in the NCAA doubles tournament. Action in the individual events will begin May 23.
No. 6 Notre Dame 4, No. 11 UNC 3
Doubles
1. No. 2 Long/Anundsen (UNC) led No. 12 Ca. Thompson/Ch. Thompson (ND), 6-4 (susp.)
2. No. 29 Collins/Marand (UNC) def. No. 22 Buck/Tefft (ND), 8-3
3. Smith/Meg Fanjoy (UNC) def. Coibanu/Kali Krisik (ND), 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. No. 10 Jenna Long (UNC) def. No. 30 Catrina Thompson (ND), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 124 Christina Thompson (ND) def. No. 45 Katrina Tsang (UNC), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
3. Colleen Rielly (ND) def. Caitlin Collins (UNC), 6-4, 7-6 (3)
4. Sara Anundsen (UNC) def. Kelcy Tefft (ND), 6-2, 6-4
5. No. 69 Cosmina Coibanu (ND) def. No. 102 Austin Smith (UNC), 6-4, 6-3
6. Brook Buck (ND) def. No. 50 Sanaz Marand (UNC), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 1, 6, 2
Players Mentioned
