University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Arkansas
No. 14 Tar Heels Ousted By No. 17 Arkansas In Epic Match
May 10, 2008 | Women's Tennis
May 10, 2008
CHAPEL HILL --- No. 14 North Carolina mounted an incredible rally from a 2-0 hole but ultimately came up short as the Tar Heels fell to No. 17 Arkansas, 4-3, on a blustery evening at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Carolina's season ends at 18-9, while the Lady Razorbacks will travel to Tulsa, Okla., for the NCAA Sweet 16. Carolina sophomore Sanaz Marand finished her incredible sophomore season with a record of 24-1 in dual match play and a second straight win over the nation's top player.
Arkansas (17-9) captured what proved to be the decisive doubles point with a pair of tight wins at the top two positions. In a matchup of top-30 tandems, the Lady'Backs' 29th-ranked pair of Aurelija Miseviciute and Ela Kaluder topped No. 15 Marand and Sophie Grabinski, 8-5, at No. 1. Maryori Franco and Nanar Airapetian then finished off No. 58 Austin Smith and Katrina Tsang, 8-6, to clinch the point.
Singles action would last almost three hours, and all six courts were still occupied after nearly two hours. Arkansas finally took a 2-0 lead when Anouk Tigu finished her win over No. 94 Smith at No. 3, 6-4, 6-2. At that point, Carolina had dropped the opening set on four of six courts and look to be on the verge of getting swept. But Grabinski pulled away from Audrey Bordeleau at No. 5 to score a 7-5, 6-2 win and put UNC on the board.
In the next 30 minutes, the Tar Heels would take an improbable 3-2 lead and push the Lady'Backs to the brink. Junior Laura Reichert tied the score at 2 with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Airapetian to put the focus on court one.
Marand, the No. 9 player in the country, dropped the opening set to No. 1 Miseviciute at the top position. The Katy, Texas, sophomore then put together two of her best sets of the season, defeating Miseviciute, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to give Carolina the overall lead. The win was the second in a row over the No. 1 player in the ITA poll for Marand, who topped then-No. 1 Ani Mijacika of Clemson in the ACC Tournament.
Arkansas even the match at 3 when No. 73 Kaluder held off No. 28 Tsang, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2 at No. 2. That left Delia Damaschin and Meg Fanjoy on court six to decide it. Damaschin dominated the opening set before Fanjoy rallied to force a third. The Statesville, N.C., junior fell behind 5-0 in the final set before reeling off three straight wins and two breaks of serve to make it 5-3. In the end, however, Damaschin would prevail, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, sending the Lady'Backs into the round of 16.
While the dual match season is over for UNC, the Tar Heels will continue to compete in the individual NCAA Championships. Marand and Grabinski are qualified in the doubles event, while Marand and Tsang will be in action in the singles tournament. Individual action will begin in Tulsa following the completion of the team tournament.
DOUBLES
1. #29 Kaluder/Miseviciute (UA) def. #15 Marand/Grabinski (UNC), 8-5
2. Franco/Airapetian (UA) def. #58 Smith/Tsang (UNC), 8-6
3. Tigu/Bordeleau (UA) led Reichert/Jurewitz (UNC), 7-6
Order of finish: 1,2
SINGLES
1. #9 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. #1 Aurelija Miseviciute (UA), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. #73 Ela Kaluder (UA) def. #28 Katrina Tsang (UNC), 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2
3. Anouk Tigu (UA) def. #94 Austin Smith (UNC), 6-4, 6-2
4. Laura Reichert (UNC) def. Nanar Airapetian (UA), 7-5, 6-4
5. Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. Audrey Bordeleau (UA), 7-5, 6-2
6. Delia Damaschin (UA) def. Meg Fanjoy (UNC), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 3,5,4,1,2,6
Players Mentioned
