North Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Upends Tar Heels In NCAAs
May 19, 2016 | Women's Tennis
North Carolina (31-3) faced an immediate uphill climb by dropping the doubles point for just the third time in 34 matches this season.
UNC's third doubles team of Ashley Dai and Chloe Ouellet-Pizer picked up a 6-3 win, however, sandwiched between that victory was a pair of wins by Virginia to garner the early 1-0 advantage.
Showing its championship pedigree, the Tar Heels response in singles was a good one by winning the first set in five of six courts. Sophomore Marika Akkerman was the first to notch a win for Carolina, 6-1, 6-1, over Erica Susi on court five.
Virginia (19-10) regained the lead when Meghan Kelley earned a 6-3, 6-1, win over senior Kate Vialle on court four, however, senior Ashley Dai squared the match at 2-2 with a 6-2, 6-3, victory over Cassie Mercer on court six.
UNC freshman Jessie Aney appeared in control of her match on court three against Stephanie Nauta, a player Aney had defeated twice previously this season in straight sets, after winning the opening set 6-3, but gave away sets two and three by scores of 6-0 and 6-1 that gave Virginia a 3-2 lead.
The match would be decided on courts one and two between four players all named first-team All-ACC in 2016.
Court one featured the top-2 ranked players in the country in UNC's No. 1 Hayley Carter and second-ranked Danielle Collins. Certainly no strangers to each other having faced off numerous times over the last three seasons, the match proved to be another epic battle.
Carter took the opener, 6-4, but Collins answered with a 6-2 second-set win.
Over on court two, No. 41 Whitney Kay faced off with Virginia's 12th-ranked Julie Elbaba. The Tar Heel senior came out strong with a 6-4 win in the first set, and had a chance to take the match but lost in a tiebreaker in set two.
The drama continued to unfold with Carter garnering a 5-4 lead over Collins and was ultimately up 40-15 serving for the match when Elbaba held on to beat Kay for the third time this season.
Kay had three break point chances down 4-3, but let it slip away, and Elbaba used that momentum to clinch the upset victory for the Cavaliers.
Seniors Dai, Kay and Vialle finish their storied Carolina careers with a 117-15 dual match record over the past four seasons. During that time, the Tar Heels won two ITA Indoor National Team Championships, reached the NCAA Championship four times and advanced to the 2014 national title.
Doubles
1. #18 Danielle Collins/Meghan Kelley (Virginia) def. #2 Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (North Carolina), 6-4
2. Cassie Mercer/Stephanie Nauta (Virginia) def. Jessie Aney/Kate Vialle (North Carolina), 6-2
3. Ashley Dai/Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (North Carolina) def. Julia Elbaba/Erica Susi (Virginia), 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. #1 Hayley Carter (North Carolina) vs. #2 Danielle Collins (Virginia), 6-4, 2-6, 5-4 DNF
2. #12 Julia Elbaba (Virginia) def. #41 Whitney Kay (North Carolina), 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3
3. #97 Stephanie Nauta (Virginia) def. #57 Jessie Aney (North Carolina), 3-6, 6-0, 6-1
4. Meghan Kelley (Virginia) def. Kate Vialle (North Carolina), 6-3, 6-1
5. Marika Akkerman (North Carolina) def. Erica Susi (Virginia), 6-1, 6-1
6. Ashley Dai (North Carolina) def. Cassie Mercer (Virginia), 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 4, 3, 2
Players Mentioned
