North Carolina
Miami
Carolina Advances to ACC Tennis Championship Finals
April 23, 2011 | Women's Tennis
April 23, 2011
CARY, N.C. -
It was all about third sets and tiebreaks as the North Carolina women's tennis team defeated the Miami Hurricanes to advance to the ACC Tennis Championship finals. The Tar Heels won the doubles point and received singles wins from Lauren McHale, Tessa Lyons and Shinann Featherston.
Carolina took the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Gina Suarez-Malaguti and Zoe De Bruycker won their match against the Hurricanes first; they beat Danielle Mills and Brittany Dubins, 8-3. Jelena Durisic and Lyons were next to finished off their Miami opponents, beating Gaby Mejia and Melissa Bolivar 8-5. Featherston and McHale were tied 6-6 with their opponents when the Tar Heel point was secured.
McHale was the first to finish in singles and won an exciting three-set match on court four. After losing the first set 0-6, McHale came back to dominate Kayla Rizzolo in the second and third sets, 6-3, 6-2, respectively.
The freshman Tessa Lyons' match ended in second-set tiebreak with Carolina coming out on top. Lyons beat out Miami's Melissa Bolivar, 6-2, 7-6 (7).
De Bruycker was unable to pull out the second-set tiebreaker and lost to Bianca Eichkron of Miami, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Durisic battled hard with Miami's Anna Bartenstein but in the end Bartenstein proved victorious, beating Durisic, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6).
Featherston's match versus Mejia which ended in a nerve-racking third set. Featherston took the first set 6-3 with ease but dropped the second set after being up five games to two over Mejia. Featherston pulled it together for the third set and finished off Mejia, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Featherston's win gave Carolina its final point needed to take the match and move on to the ACC Championship finals.
Had Featherston not won, the match would've fallen upon the outcome of the Suarez-Malaguti vs. Mills match. And although Suarez-Malaguti did not finish her match, she was leading Miami's Mills 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3), 3-0.
The Tar Heels will play their final match on Sunday, April 24 at 11 a.m. against the Florida State Semionles. The match will be played at Cary Tennis Center in Cary, N.C. Scores and updates from the ACC Tennis Championships can be found at TheACC.com.
No. 5 North Carolina 4, No. 6 Miami 2
Doubles
1. #6 Featherston/McHale (UNC) tied #5 Eichkorn/Bartenstein (UM), 6-6
2. Durisic/Lyons (UNC) def. Bolivar/Mejia (UM), 8-5
3. Suarez-Malaguti/De Bruycker (UNC) def. #78 Dubins/Mills (UM), 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2*, 1
Singles
1. #7 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. #11 Zoe De Bruycker (UNC), 6-3, 7-6 (7)
2. #46 Anna Bartenstein (UM) def. #105 Jelena Durisic (UNC), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6)
3. #93 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Gaby Mejia (UM), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
4. Lauren McHale (UNC) def. #123 Kayla Rizzolo (UM), 0-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) vs. Danielle Mills (UM), 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3), 3-0
6. Tessa Lyons (UNC) def. Melissa Bolivar (UM), 6-2, 7-6 (1)
Order of finish: 4, 6, 1, 2, 3*
Players Mentioned
