North Carolina
Baylor
No. 11 Carolina Falls To No. 4 Baylor, 4-3
February 14, 2009 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 14, 2009
MADISON, Wis. --- No. 11 North Carolina pushed No. 4 Baylor to the edge but fell to the Lady Bears in heartbreaking fashion, 4-3, Friday at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships at the University of Wisconsin's A.C. Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Tar Heels pulled out the doubles point and got singles wins from Sophie Grabinski and Sanaz Marand but were unable to close out the favored Lady Bears.
In its second-straight match against a top-10 foe, UNC (6-1) once again found itself in a heated doubles point. The teams split at positions 1 and 3, with No. 15 Marand and Grabinski scoring an impressive 8-5 win over No. 3-ranked Lenka Broosova and Csilla Borsanyi at the top of the lineup. No. 12 Katrina Tsang and Shinann Featherston would then clinch the point at No. 2 in a tiebreak, outlasting Taylor Ormond and Jelena Stanivuk, 9-8 (5).
With only three singles matches able to start initially due to facility restrictions, No. 47 Marand, No. 99 Austin Smith and Jelena Durisic were first to hit the court. Baylor won two of the three early matches, with Marand tallying for UNC. The Katy, Texas, junior evened the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 19 Ormond at No. 1.
The Lady Bears briefly took the lead when No. 32 Borsanyi defeated Tsang at No. 2, but Grabinski topped No. 65 Stanivuk, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4 to even the match. The victory continues a recent run of strong play from Grabinski, who has not lost in dual match play so far in 2009.
The final match of the morning session pitted Laura Reichert against Baylor's Nina Secerbegovic. The Oakton, Va., senior opened with a 6-3 win in the first set and looked poised to take the match with a break of serve at 4-all in the second. But Secerbegovic responded, breaking back and taking the set, 7-5. The Baylor freshman then took control, winning the final set, 6-1, to send the Lady Bears into the quarterfinals to face Notre Dame.
Despite the loss, Carolina will have two more opportunities to prove itself against the nation's best. The Tar Heels will face No. 5 Stanford on Saturday morning before playing a final match on Sunday. Scores can be found during the matches at ITATennis.com and UWBadgers.com.
No. 4 Baylor 4, No. 11 North Carolina 3
Singles
1. No. 15 Marand/Grabinski (UNC) def. No. 3 Broosova/Borsanyi, 8-5
2. No. 12 Tsang/Featherston (UNC) def. Ormond/Stanivuk, 9-8 (5)
3. Secerbegovic/Kasia Siwosz (BU) def. Reichert/Meg Fanjoy, 8-5
Doubles
1. No. 47 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. No. 19 Taylor Ormond, 6-4, 6-3
2. No. 32 Csilla Borsanyi (BU) def. Katrina Tsang, 7-5, 6-3
3. Lenka Broosova (BU) def. No. 99 Austin Smith, 6-2, 6-1
4. Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. No. 65 Jelena Stanivuk, 6-4, 6-4
5. Karolina Filipiak (BU) def. Jelena Durisic, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4
6. Nina Secerbegovic (BU) def. Laura Reichert, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 5, 2, 4, 6*
Players Mentioned
