North Carolina
NC State
No. 3 Tar Heels Top No. 32 NC State, 5-2
March 23, 2011 | Women's Tennis
March 23, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. --- No. 3 North Carolina won its seventh match in a row Wednesday, topping No. 32 NC State, 5-2, at Pullen Park. The Tar Heels, who finished last season a perfect 11-0, swept the doubles point and took the top four singles matches in defeating their local rivals for the 12th consecutive time. Sophomore Zoe De Bruycker set the tone for UNC, thumping No. 24 Sanaa Bhambri, 6-2, 6-1, at the top of the lineup.
Carolina (14-3, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) split up its top doubles team of Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale to great effect, as the Tar Heels swept the doubles point for just the third time in their last 10 matches.
Jelena Durisic and Jennifer Stone got things started with an 8-4 win over Tanvi Shah and Ashley Miller on court three. Featherston and Gina Suarez-Malaguti then clinched the point with an 8-4 victory over Lenka Hojckova and Tatiana Illova at No. 2. McHale and De Bruycker completed the sweep on court one, besting No. 19 Bhambri and Sandhya Nagaraj, 8-5.
No. 14 De Bruycker quickly made it 2-0 with her comprehensive win over No. 24 Bhambri, the Saratoga, Calif., sophomore's second top-25 win in the last 10 days. Her classmate Suarez-Malaguti pushed the lead to 3-0 on court four, topping Hojckova, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 61 Featherston clinched the dual for the visitors at the No. 3 position, beating Illova in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.
NC State (10-3, 1-2 ACC) picked up its first point of the afternoon on court five, as Joelle Kissell scored a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 108 McHale.
Durisic followed with UNC's fourth singles win of the day, outlasting No. 73 Nagaraj in a third-set tiebreak, 7-5, 5-7, (11-9).
The Wolfpack took the afternoon's final match, as Christy Sipes beat Haley Hemm in three sets, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
The Tar Heels face a quick turnaround as they head up I-95 to College Park, Md., to face No. 24 Maryland Friday afternoon at 2 at the Cole Tennis Courts.
No. 3 North Carolina 5, No. 32 NC State 2
Doubles
1. McHale/De Bruycker (UNC) def. #19 Bhambri/Nagaraj (NCSU), 8-5
2. Featherston/Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Hojckova/Illova (NCSU), 8-4
3. Durisic/Stone (UNC) def. Shah/Miller (NCSU), 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #14 Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. #24 Sanaa Bhambri (NCSU), 6-2, 6-1
2. Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. #73 Sandhya Nagaraj (NCSU), 7-5, 5-7, (11-9)
3. #61 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Tatiana Illova (NCSU), 6-3, 7-5
4. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Lenka Hojckova (NCSU), 6-3, 6-4
5. Joelle Kissell (NCSU) def. #108 Lauren McHale (UNC), 6-3, 6-2
6. Christy Sipes (NCSU) def. Haley Hemm (UNC), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3*, 5, 2, 6
Players Mentioned
