North Carolina
Vanderbilt
Tar Heels Blank No. 4 Vanderbilt To Advance To NCAA Quarterfinals
May 19, 2005 | Women's Tennis
May 19, 2005
ATHENS, Ga. - For only the second time in the program's history, the North Carolina women's tennis team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships after defeating Vanderbilt 4-0 Thursday afternoon at Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia. No. 13 Carolina (23-9) will face No. 12 Clemson on Friday at 11 a.m. Vanderbilt, the tournament's fourth seed, ends the season with a 22-6 record.
The last time North Carolina went to the NCAA quarterfinals was in 2002, the first ever such trip for the women's tennis program. Making its seventh NCAA appearance this year, UNC moves to 11-6 in NCAA play.
Head Coach Brian Kalbas is now 18-9 in NCAA play. In his 13 years of coaching, this marks the third time Kalbas has taken a team to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals. In 1997, Kalbas took William & Mary to the quarterfinals for the first time ever in that program's history. In 1998, the Tribe advanced again to the final eight.
In their last meeting, Vanderbilt edged Carolina 4-3 in February at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis. But coming off a 4-0 win over #15 Duke last Saturday in the second-round, the Tar Heels came out strong in Thursday's round-of-16 match.
North Carolina, the 13th seed in the tournament, jumped to a 1-0 lead over Vanderbilt quickly after dominating in doubles. At No. 3, Caitlin Collins and Tanja Markovic defeated the Commodores' Carolina Ferrell and Annie Menees 8-2. Collins and Markovic improve to 9-3 together on the season and are on a five-match winning streak.
The Tar Heel tandem of Kendall Cline and Aniela Mojzis, the nation's fifth-ranked doubles team, clinched the doubles point after beating 30th-ranked Audra Falk and Amanda Taylor 8-4 at No. 1. The senior pair, who have already earned All-America honors this season, improve to 32-8 this year.
In singles action, Mojzis put the Tar Heels up 2-0 after her win at No. 1. Ranked 41st, Mojzis took a 6-2, 6-1 upset win over 17th-ranked Falk. With the win, Mojzis avenged a loss to Falk at the ITA Indoor Championships in February, when Falk won 6-1, 6-2.
Collins captured the third point of the match after she defeated Vanderbilt's Menees 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5. Like Mojzis, Collins entered today's match having lost to her opponent in Febrary. Even though Collins fell to Menees 6-3, 6-3 at the ITA Indoors, the sophomore won decisively Thursday afternoon.
Markovic clinched the Tar Heels' 4-0 victory after beating Ferrell 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6. Markovic also clinched UNC's 4-0 victory over Duke last Saturday in the second-round of the tournament after beating Jennifer Zika at No. 6.
Clemson edged No. 5 Northwestern 4-3 on Thursday in other round-of-16 action. The last time Carolina faced Clemson was on April 16 in Clemson, S.C. In the regular-season match-up, the Tigers came away with the 5-2 victory.
2005 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
Final Score:
#13 North Carolina 4, #4 Vanderbilt 0
Doubles (One point to UNC):
1. #5 Kendall Cline / Aniela Mojzis (UNC) def. #30 Audra Falk/Amanda Taylor (VU), 8-4
2. #40 Sara Anundsen / Jenna Long (UNC) led. #47 Taka Bertrand / Amanda Fish (VU), 7-3
3. Caitlin Collins / Tanja Markovic (UNC) def. Carolina Ferrell/Annie Menees (VU), 8-2*
Order of finish: 3, 1
* Clinching match
Singles:
1. #41 Aniela Mojzis (UNC) def. #17 Audra Falk (VU), 6-2, 6-1
2. #28 Amanda Fish (VU) led #24 Kendall Cline (UNC), 7-5, 0-1
3. Jenna Long (UNC) led #58 Taka Bertrand (VU), 7-6, 2-2
4. Amanda Taylor (VU) led Sara Anundsen (UNC), 7-6, 0-2
5. Caitlin Collins (UNC) def. Annie Menees (VU), 6-2, 6-1
6. Tanja Markovic (UNC) def. Caroline Ferrell (VU), 6-2, 6-2*
Order of finish: 1,5,6
* Clinching match
Records:
North Carolina (23-9)
Vanderbilt (22-6)
Players Mentioned
