North Carolina
Duke
No. 5 Tar Heels Drop Second ACC Match To No. 14 Duke
April 5, 2006 | Women's Tennis
April 5, 2006
DURHAM, N.C - Despite winning the doubles point, the No. 5 North Carolina women's tennis team suffered a tough loss Wednesday to ACC rival, No. 14 Duke. The Blue Devils clinched the match in the last set, upsetting the Tar Heels, 4-3. North Carolina now stands at 22-4 overall and 7-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while Duke improved to 13-5 and 6-1 in the ACC. With the win, Duke also earned a point towards the Carlyle Cup, which North Carolina leads 10-9.
North Carolina saw doubles wins from the one and two seeds, with Caitlin Collins and Tanja Markovic clinching the doubles point at the two seed. Collins and Markovic defeated Daniela Bercek and Jennifer Zika, 8-6. At the one seed, the No. 7 Tar Heel duo of Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long topped Duke's Jackie Carleton and Melissa Mang, 8-6. Anundsen and Long earned their 30th doubles win of the season with the victory. No. 46 Meg Fanjoy and Austin Smith dropped their ninth match of the year to Tara Iyer and Jessi Robinson at the three seed, 8-2.
Senior Tanja Markovic took the Tar Heels to a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-0, win over Jennifer Zika at the six seed. Markovic improved to a seven-match win streak. Duke tied the score at two all with wins coming from the one and two seeds. No. 34 Jenna Long fell to Duke's No. 6 Daniela Bercek, 6-0, 6-1, and No. 29 Jackie Carleton downed No. 57 Caitlin Collins at the two seed, 6-2, 6-1.
Freshman Laura Reichert put the Tar Heels back in the lead, 3-2, with a win from the five seed. Reichert posted a 7-6, 6-3, win over Jessi Robinson. But, the Blue Devils gained wins from the remaining three and four seeds to clinch the match. Sara Anundsen fell to No. 109 Melissa Mang at the three seed, 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, pushing the score to a four all tie. Clinching the match for Duke at the four seed was No. 70 Tara Iyer. Iyer battled back from dropping the first set to Austin Smith to clinch the match. Iyer defeated Smith, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Head coach Brian Kalbas was pleased with the team's effort against a tough school and looks to gain from the loss. "We played as hard as we could," said Kalbas. "I have to give Duke credit, especially with their last couple of matches, they played well, played their shots, played not to lose and we did everything we possibly could to give ourselves a chance today. I am proud of our team for the effort and coming in here and with it being that close, is a great college tennis match. Even though we lost, we got a lot better today with the effort we put forth. Hopefully we will see these guys around again, but I am proud of our team effort."
The Duke Blue Devils earned the Carlyle Cup point with the 4-3 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina still leads the race, 10-9.
The Tar Heels close out their dual season this upcoming weekend, hosting No. 12 Georgia Tech on Saturday, April 8, and No. 24 Clemson on Sunday. The Georgia Tech match is slated for an 11:00 a.m. start and the Clemson match is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
No. 14 Duke 4, No. 5 North Carolina 3
Doubles
1. #7 Sara Anundsen/Jenna Long (NC) def. Jackie Carleton/Melissa Mang
(NC), 8-6
2. Caitlin Collins/Tanja Markovic (NC) def. Daniela Bercek/Jennifer Zika
(D), 8-6
3. Tara Iyer/Jessi Robinson (D) def. #46 Meg Fanjoy/Austin Smith (NC),
8-2
Order: 3,1,2*
Singles
1. #6 Daniela Bercek (D) def. #34 Jenna Long (NC), 6-0, 6-1
2. #29 Jackie Carleton (D) def. #57 Caitlin Collins (NC), 6-2, 6-1
3. #109 Melissa Mang (D) def. Sara Anundsen (NC), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
4. #70 Tara Iyer (D) def. Austin Smith (NC), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Laura Reichert (NC) def. Jessi Robinson (D), 7-6, 6-3
6. Tanja Markovic (NC) def. Jennifer Zika (D), 6-2, 6-0
Order: 6,1,2,5,3,4*
*clinching match
Players Mentioned
