North Carolina
Florida
No. 17 Tar Heels Outlast No. 7 Florida, 4-3
February 8, 2009 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 8, 2009
CHAPEL HILL --- No. 17 North Carolina won a tight doubles point and held on for a 4-3 dual match win over No. 7 Florida Sunday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Indoor Tennis Center. Seniors Sophie Grabinski and Laura Reichert and freshman Shinann Featherston each claimed singles victories to push the Tar Heels to a perfect 6-0, while the Gators fell to 4-1.
The senior duo of Reichert and Meg Fanjoy started things off with a convincing 8-4 win over Jo Mather and Barbara Pinterova at No. 3 doubles before the top positions both needed extra games to finish.
No. 18 Megan Alexander and Marrit Boonstra looked poised to pull Florida even when the tandem served for the match up 7-5 at the top position. UF had three match points before No. 15 Sanaz Marand and Grabinski broke serve to extend the match. Both squads would hold serve over the next three games at No. 1, forcing a tiebreaker.
Moments before, the No. 12 duo of Katrina Tsang and Featherston finished off Jessica Alexander and Anastasia Revzina at No. 2, 9-7, clinching the doubles point for UNC.
There was plenty of doubles drama to come, however, as the top teams from each school waged a lenghty tiebreak. The two sides combined to save 11 match points, including eight by Marand and Grabinski, in a 30-point epic that finally came to a end with the Tar Heel pair on top, 16-14.
Carolina seemed to feed off the energy of the dramatic doubles point and jumped out to early leads in five of six singles matches. With Grabinski, Featherston and Reichert each winning quick first sets, UNC looked poised to run away with the match. But Florida responded, with No. 34 Boonstra and Mather digging out of early holes to win the first set at Nos. 1 and 4, respectively. When the dust settled, each team had won the opening set on three courts.
Grabinski was first off for the Tar Heels at No. 3, holding off No. 78 Megan Alexander in a second-set tiebreak, 6-1, 7-6 (6), to give Carolina a 2-0 lead. Just minutes later, Reichert pushed UNC to the brink of the upset by finishing Pinterova at No. 6, 6-2, 6-2.
Boonstra pulled one back for the Gators at No. 1, topping No. 47 Marand, 6-4, 7-6 (3), and with Florida leading on courts 2 and 4, the match looked to be up for grabs again. But Featherston saved her best tennis for last at No. 5, cruising in the final set for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win over Jessica Alexander and securing the win for Carolina.
The Gators would win the final two matches, as No. 99 Revzina defeated No. 103 Austin Smith, 6-2, 7-6 (3) at No. 2 and Mather outlasted Jelena Durisic at No. 4, 7-6 (3), 5-7, (10-1).
The victory, Carolina's first of the season over a top-10 opponent, comes at a great time, with UNC heading to Madison, Wis., for the prestigious ITA National Team Indoor Championships this weekend. Play in that event is set for Feb. 13-16, and the draw is expected to be announced early in the week.
No. 17 North Carolina 4, No. 7 Florida 3
Doubles
1. #15 Marand/Grabinski (UNC) def. #18 M. Alexander/Boonstra (UF), 9-8 (14)
2. #12 Tsang/Featherston (UNC) def. J. Alexander/Revzina (UF), 9-7
3. Reichert/Fanjoy (UNC) def. Mather/Pinterova (UF), 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2*, 1
Singles
1. #34 Marrit Boonstra (UF) def. #47 Sanaz Marand (UNC), 6-4, 7-6 (3)
2. #99 Anastasia Revzina (UF) def. #103 Austin Smith (UNC), 6-2, 7-6 (3)
3. Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. #78 Megan Alexander, 6-1, 7-6 (6)
4. Jo Mather (UF) def. Jelena Durisic (UNC), 7-6 (3), 5-7, (10-1)
5. #83 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Jessica Alexander (UF), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
6. Laura Reichert (UNC) def. Barbara Pinterova (UF), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 6, 1, 5*, 2, 4
Players Mentioned
