North Carolina
Florida State
Carolina Crowned ACC Tennis Champions
April 24, 2011 | Women's Tennis
April 24, 2011
CARY, N.C. - The North Carolina women's tennis team is finally back atop the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Shinann Featherston's thrilling three-set win over Noemie Scharle gave the Tar Heels a 4-3 win over fifth-seeded Florida State and their first ACC title since 2002.
Zoe De Bruycker, Jelena Durisic and Gina Suarez-Malaguti were also singles winners for Carolina, who dropped the doubles point but rallied to win the program's sixth league tournament crown.
"I feel that now, we as a program, have gotten to the point where we belong with the other amazing North Carolina teams," head coach Brian Kalbas said after the match.
"North Carolina has had such a great tradition of excellence in athletics and for us to win an ACC Championship in women's tennis is a testament that we have a program that is up to the caliber that of the other programs here at UNC. This is why I came to North Carolina, to compete for championships, so I am really excited for our team."
The Seminoles took the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Florida State's Francesca Segarelli and Ruth Seaborne had a commanding win on court two, beating Durisic and Tessa Lyons, 8-3.
On court three, their teammates Katie Rybakova and Amy Sargeant were victorious over Suarez-Malaguti and De Bruycker, winning 8-4.
Play was stopped between Carolina's Featherston and Lauren McHale and Florida State's Scharle and Federica Suess after the Seminoles secured the doubles point. Featherston and McHale were leading 7-5.
After losing the doubles point, Carolina needed four singles wins to rally for the victory.
The first point came from De Bruycker as she returned to her winning ways. The Saratoga, Calif., sophomore dominated Rybakova, 6-2, 6-1, on court one, her fifth win over a top-50 opponent in the last month.
Suarez-Malaguti gave UNC its first lead of the day after winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, over Suess on court five.
Durisic made it 3-1 on court two with an impressive turnaround. After dropping the first set to Francesca Segarelli, 6-2, the senior captain came back with a vengeance to take sets two and three, 6-4, 6-2, respectively. For Durisic, the win avenged a 6-1, 6-0 loss to Segarelli in last week's regular season finale in Tallahassee.
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Pushed to the brink, the red-hot Seminoles would not go down without a fight.
FSU snagged a win on court six as Lyons was fell to Amy Sargeant in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Shortly after, McHale dropped a three-setter to Ruth Seaborne, 6-3, 5-7, 6-0, giving FSU its third point of the day and knotting the dual at 3.
All eyes shifted to court three as Featherston was amidst a third-set tiebreak with Scharle that would determine whether ACC title.
Featherston, who fought off a match point at 30-40 and 4-5 in the third set, opened the tiebreak with a 2-0 lead. After Scharle tied it at 2, Featherston eventually got a mini-break and held serve to make the score 6-4. On match point, Scharle sent a ball long to give Featherston the 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) victory and Carolina its first league tournament title in nine years.
"It usually happens that I'm the last one out there on the court for whatever odd reason," Featherston said after the match. "It's happened a lot. I love being the last one out there. I know I have it in me to win, and that's all I think about. I refuse to lose. If I get hurt, I don't care. If I have to stay out on the court for hours, that's what I will do."
"For her to clinch the match yesterday and today shows what a great competitor, fighter and teammate she is to everyone," Kalbas said of Featherston, who was named the event's Most Valuable Performer. "If anyone deserves it, it's her."
The victory give the Tar Heels the ACC's automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships. The pairings for the event, which begins May 13-15, will be announced on May 3.
No. 5 North Carolina 4, No. 18 Florida State 3
Doubles
1. #6 Featherston/McHale (UNC) led Scharle/Suess (FSU), 7-5
2. Segarelli/Seaborne (FSU) def. Durisic/Lyons (UNC), 8-3
3. Rybakova/Sargeant (FSU) def. Suarez-Malaguti/De Bruycker (UNC), 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 3*
Singles
1. #11 Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. #35 Katie Rybakova (FSU), 6-2, 6-1
2. #105 Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. Francesca Segarelli (FSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. #93 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. #56 Noemie Scharle (FSU), 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
4. Ruth Seaborne (FSU) def. Lauren McHale (UNC), 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
5. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Federica Suess (FSU), 6-2, 6-0
6. Amy Sargeant (FSU) def. Tessa Lyons (UNC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 5, 2, 6, 4, 3*
Players Mentioned
