University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
No. 2 Carolina Closes Out Road Trip With Win Over No. 20 Georgia Tech
April 11, 2010 | Women's Tennis
April 11, 2010
ATLANTA --- Katrina Tsang finished a perfect week with a clinching win at No. 2 singles and No. 2 North Carolina improved to 9-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 5-2 win over No. 20 Georgia Tech Sunday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Carolina won the doubles point and then got singles victories from Tsang, Jelena Durisic, Sophie Grabinski and Shinann Featherston to top the Yellow Jackets for the first time since 2006.
UNC (22-3) won a pair of doubles matches for the second time in as many days to get the crucial early lead.
Featherston and Jocelyn Ffriend were first off at No. 3, dispatching Elizabeth Kilborn and Viet Ha Ngo, 8-3. Grabinski and Durisic then sealed the point with an 8-5 win over Lynn Blau and Hillary Davis on court two.
Tsang and Sanaz Marand, playing together for the first time this spring, fell to the 30th-ranked tandem of Sasha Krupina and Irina Falconi, 8-7, at the top position.
Singles started much in the same way as Saturday at Clemson, with Featherston turning in an impressive performance on court six. The sophomore standout scored her 20th win of the dual match season with a 6-2, 6-2 thumping of Davis that made it 2-0 in favor of the Tar Heels.
Unlike Saturday's 4-3 victory, however, Carolina was not forced to sweat things out to the very end on Sunday. Tsang and Durisic each completed straight-set wins to seal the victory for the Tar Heels.
No. 51 Tsang, who fell behind early in her wins against Duke and Clemson earlier in the week, wasted no time against Tech's Viet Ha Ngo. Tsang dropped just four games the entire match on her way to a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Durisic looked to benefit from having gotten the day off Saturday, as the Torrance, Calif., junior defeated Krupina on court three, 6-1, 6-4, to give Carolina the victory.
Blau got Georgia Tech (13-8, 4-4 ACC) on the board at No. 4 with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Gina Suarez-Malaguti.
Court one saw two of the league's best players go the distance, as Falconi, the nation's top-ranked player, outlasted No. 32 Marand, 6-1, 5-7, (12-10).
Grabinski scored the final victory of the day for Carolina on court five, as the fifth-year senior rallied from a set down to top Kilborn, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The Tar Heels will return home for the regular season's final weekend and a showdown with the league's only other unbeaten team. Carolina will host No. 10 Miami (16-3, 9-0 ACC) on Saturday at 11 a.m. before closing out the home slate against Florida State (12-7, 6-2 ACC) Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission to both matches at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center is free.
No. 2 North Carolina 5, No. 20 Georgia Tech 2
Doubles
1. #30 Sasha Krupina/Irina Falconi (GT) def. Sanaz Marand/Katrina Tsang (UNC), 8-7
2. Jelena Durisic/Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. Lynn Blau/Hillary Davis (GT), 8-5
3. Shinann Featherston/Jocelyn Ffriend (UNC) def. Elizabeth Kilborn/Viet Ha Ngo (GT), 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #1 Irina Falconi (GT) def. #32 Sanaz Marand (UNC), 6-1, 7-5, (12-10)
2. #51 Katrina Tsang (UNC) def. Viet Ha Ngo (GT), 6-1, 6-3
3. Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. Sasha Krupina (GT), 6-1, 6-4
4. Lynn Blau (GT) def. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC), 6-3, 7-5
5. #118 Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. Elizabeth Kilborn (GT), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Hillary Davis (GT), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 3, 2*, 4, 1, 5
Players Mentioned
