North Carolina
Virginia Tech
No. 1 Tar Heels Handle No. 68 Virginia Tech, 7-0
April 3, 2010 | Women's Tennis
April 3, 2010
BLACKSBURG, Va. --- Top-ranked North Carolina won its sixth consecutive match and improved to 19-3 on the season with a 7-0 sweep of No. 68 Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center. The Tar Heels, who moved to 6-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, won two of three doubles matches to take the early lead before winning all six singles matches, including five in straight sets.
After dropping the doubles point Friday against Virginia, Carolina got wins on courts two and three to take the initial advantage against the Hokies (9-8, 2-5 ACC).
The sophomore duo of Jocelyn Ffriend and Haley Hemm made a triumphant return to the lineup, rolling to an 8-2 victory at No. 3. No. 27 Katrina Tsang and Shinann Featherston then clinched the point with an 8-4 win at No. 2, extending their unbeaten run at that position to 14 matches.
Carolina kept the pressure on in singles, as No. 32 Sanaz Marand gave the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Martha Blakely at No. 2. The senior standout dropped just four games in two matches on the weekend and improved to 16-5 in dual match play.
No. 118 Grabinski quickly made it 3-0 with her 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 4 before Featherston sealed the team victory with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 6. Grabinski and Featherston have been stellar all spring, combining to drop just three matches between them in 22 dual matches. Grabinski has won nine straight overall while Featherston is perfect in her last six and is 5-0 in ACC play.
No. 51 Tsang was next off, rebounding from a tough loss Friday to post a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Yasmin Hamza at No. 1.
Freshman Zoe De Bruycker made it 6-0 with her 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5 before Jelena Durisic completed the sweep at No. 6. The Torrance, Calif., junior outlasted Shannon Betts in a third-set tiebreak, 6-4, 2-6, (10-6).
Carolina will continue its season-long five match road trip Wednesday, April 7, when the Tar Heels make the short drive to Durham to face archrival Duke at 3 p.m.
No. 1 North Carolina 7, No. 68 Virginia Tech 0
Doubles
1. Hamza/Johnson (VT) def. #11 Marand/Grabinski (UNC), 8-5
2. #27 Tsang/Featherston (UNC) def. Blakely/Lauten (VT), 8-4
3. Ffriend/Hemm (UNC) def. Betts/Rauscher (VT), 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #51 Katrina Tsang (UNC) def. Yasmin Hamza (VT), 6-4, 6-3
2. #32 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. Martha Blakely (VT), 6-0, 6-1
3. Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. Shannon Betts (VT), 6-4, 2-6, (10-6)
4. #118 Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. Emily Lauten (VT), 6-1, 6-2
5. Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. Courtney Rauscher (VT), 6-3, 6-1
6. Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Holly Johnson (VT), 6-4, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 4, 6*, 1, 5, 3
Players Mentioned
