North Carolina
Duke
No. 18 Tar Heels Fall Short Against No. 9 Duke, 4-3
April 1, 2009 | Women's Tennis
April 1, 2009
CHAPEL HILL --- No. 18 North Carolina swept the doubles point but was unable to overcome No. 9 Duke in singles, falling to the Blue Devils, 4-3, Wednesday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. No. 61 Sanaz Marand notched a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 28 Ellah Nze at No. 2 singles and Austin Smith topped No. 75 Amanda Granson at No. 4, but the visitors claimed four of six singles matches to hold off UNC.
Carolina (14-7, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) took all three matches in a tight doubles point to grab an early 1-0 lead. No. 2 was the first match off, with No. 4 Marand and Sophie Grabinski disposing of Jessi Robinson and Mallory Cecil, 8-4. The other two positions were tight throughout and would each require a tiebreak to decide the outcome. The senior duo of Laura Reichert and Meg Fanjoy clinched the point with a 9-8 (5) win over Nze and Reka Zsilinszka at No. 3 shortly before No. 61 Austin Smith and Katrina Tsang extended their undefeated league run with a 9-8 (5) over No. 18 Granson and Melissa Mang.
Duke (14-3, 4-1 ACC) got on the board early with No. 31 Cecil's 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 1 before Marand scored the Tar Heels' first singles triumph of the day with an impressive 6-3, 6-3 win over Nze at No. 2. The victory was Marand's fifth of the season over a top-50 singles opponent. Smith would push UNC to a 3-1 lead in the dual match with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Granson at No. 4, but the Blue Devils would take control of the final three matches.
Mang made it 3-2 by finishing a straight-set victory over Fanjoy at No. 5, 6-1, 6-3.
The final two matches to finish each went the distance. Robinson evened the match at 3 by winning 12 of the final 13 games in a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 win over Reichert at No. 5. With the dual in the balance, No. 40 Zsilinszka fought off No. 95 Grabinski, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 at No. 3 to give the Blue Devils the 4-3 victory.
Wednesday's match was worth one point in the Carlyle Cup, the annual all-sport competition between the two schools. UNC currently leads Duke, 11.5-8.5, with 13 points required for the Tar Heels to retain the Cup.
Carolina will continue its season-ending five match homestand this weekend, as the Tar Heels welcome Virginia Tech Saturday at 11 a.m. and Virginia Sunday afternoon at 1. Both matches will be played outside at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, weather permitting.
No. 9 Duke 4, No. 18 North Carolina 3
Doubles
1. No. 61 Smith/Tsang (NC) def. No. 18 Mang/Granson, 9-8 (5)
2. No. 4 Marand/Grabinski (NC) def. Robinson/Cecil, 8-4
3. Reichert/Fanjoy (NC) def. Nze/Zsilinszka, 9-8 (5)
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. No. 31 Mallory Cecil (DU) def. No. 63 Katrina Tsang, 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 61 Sanaz Marand (NC) def. No. 28 Ellah Nze, 6-3, 6-3
3. No. 40 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. No. 95 Sophie Grabinski, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
4. Austin Smith (NC) def. No. 75 Amanda Granson, 6-4, 6-4
5. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Meg Fanjoy, 6-1, 6-3
6. Jessi Robinson (DU) def. Laura Reichert, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3
Players Mentioned
