North Carolina
Florida State
No. 14 Carolina Uses Doubles Momentum To Blitz No. 17 FSU
April 6, 2007 | Women's Tennis
April 6, 2007
CHAPEL HILL --- No. 14 North Carolina scored a thrilling victory in the doubles point and used that momentum to defeat No. 17 Florida State 7-0 Friday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Indoor Tennis Center. The Tar Heels, who improved to 17-7, 5-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, won all six singles matches, dropping just one set on the day.
Jenna Long and Austin Smith got things started in doubles play with an 8-4 victory over Jessica Wente and Miranda Foley. However, when that match ended, Florida State (11-6, 4-4 ACC) led at both No. 1 and No. 2. The Tar Heels would ultimately stage a pair of comebacks leading to a doubles sweep.
Trailing 7-4 at No. 1, No. 28 Caitlin Collins and Sanaz Marand won three straight games to tie the match at 7-all. Florida State's Nicola Slater and Carolin Walter, ranked No. 19 in the nation, had a match point at 7-6, but Carolina fought it off to extend the match. Each team held serve from there on to force a tiebreak, and the Seminoles took the early advantage.
The visitors led 5-2 before Collins and Marand won four straight points to earn a match point at 6-5. FSU then won two straight to earn a second match point, but the Tar Heels held serve and moved ahead 8-7 before finally clinching the match. At the exact same time, No. 50 Sara Anundsen and Katrina Tsang finished off a rally of their own to complete the sweep with an 8-6 win.
Carolina seized the momentum from there on and cruised in singles play. Anundsen and Marand scored easy wins at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively, to bring the Tar Heel lead to 3-0. Long, the No. 6 singles player in the nation, then defeated No. 99 Lauren Macfarlane 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 to clinch the match victory.
No. 62 Tsang was also a straight-set winner over Nicola Slater at No. 2. Collins turned in one of her best singles results of the spring at No. 3, coming from behind to defeat No. 102 Rynarzewska 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. No. 90 Smith finished off the sweep with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win at No. 5.
Carolina faces a quick turnaround before its next key ACC match. The Tar Heels will host No. 9 Miami at 11 a.m. Saturday morning. Live updates through TarHeelBlue.com as well as live video via ACC Select will be available.
No. 14 UNC 7, No. 17 Florida State 0
Doubles
1. No. 28 Collins/Marand def. No. 19 Slater/Walter, 9-8 (7)
2. No. 50 Anundsen/Tsang def. Macfarlane/Rynarzewska, 8-6
3. Long/Smith def. Wente/Foley, 8-4
Singles
1. No. 6 Jenna Long def. No. 99 Lauren Macfarlane, 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 62 Katrina Tsang def. Nicola Slater, 6-3, 6-3
3. Caitlin Collins def. No. 102 Ania Rynarzewska, 2-6, 6-3, (10-8)
4. Sara Anundsen def. Carolin Walter, 6-1, 6-0
5. No. 90 Austin Smith def. Jessica Wente, 7-6 (3), 6-2
6. No. 64 Sanaz Marand def. Tapiwa Marobela, 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 1, 2, Singles: 4, 6, 1, 2, 3, 5
Players Mentioned
