North Carolina
Duke
No. 21 Carolina Edged By No. 3 Duke, 4-2
April 18, 2009 | Women's Tennis
April 18, 2009
CARY, N.C. --- Sixth-seeded North Carolina fell short in its bid to make a surprise run to the Atlantic Coast Conference finals as the Tar Heels lost to second-seeded Duke, 4-2, Saturday afternoon in the ACC Women's Tennis Championship at the Cary Tennis Park. Seniors Sophie Grabinski and Laura Reichert posted singles wins for UNC, which was unable to overcome dropping a tight doubles point.
Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka made quick work of Reichert and Meg Fanjoy at No. 3 doubles before courts 1 and 2 went down to the wire. At the top position, No. 3 Grabinski and Sanaz Marand raced out to a 3-0 lead over No. 16 Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson before the Duke tandem ran off six consecutive games to seemingly take control. But the UNC pair responded with four straight to make it 7-6.
Meanwhile, No. 61 Austin Smith and Katrina Tsang had worked their way to a 6-5 lead over No. 73 Jessi Robinson and Mallory Cecil at No. 2. But Duke held for 6-all and broke UNC to make it 7-6. Before Marand and Grabinski could complete their comeback at No. 1, the Blue Devil tandem served out the match at No. 2, giving Duke an 8-6 win and the all-important first point.
For Carolina (18-10), singles went the reverse of Friday's upset win over Clemson. Duke (22-3) captured the opening set at the top half of the lineup, while UNC held the upper hand on courts 4, 5 and 6. No. 39 Zsilinszka quickly made it 2-0 in favor of the Blue Devils, handing Smith a 6-1, 6-1 loss at No. 3. Duke moved to 3-0 with No. 16 Cecil's marquee win over No. 23 Marand, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 1.
But Reichert finished off Robinson at No. 6 soon after, and No. 102 Grabinski made it 3-2 with an impressive 7-6, 6-0 win over No. 74 Granson at No. 4.
Carolina's Jelena Durisic was in control at No. 5, leading No. 115 Melissa Mang, 7-5, 5-4, when Duke's No. 33 Nze held serve at No. 2 to give her a 7-5, 5-3 lead over No. 62 Tsang. Durisic had two points left to clinch her win when a Tsang forehand clipped the net, giving Nze and Duke the victory.
Duke, which advanced to Sunday's final to face top-seeded Miami, secured the women's tennis point in the Carlyle Cup. UNC leads the annual all-sport competition, 12.5-8.5, with 13 points needed to retain the Cup.
Carolina will now await word on its placement into the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 9.
No. 3 Duke 4, No. 21 North Carolina 2
Doubles
1. #3 Marand/Grabinski (NC) led #16 Mang/Granson (DU), 7-6
2. #73 Robinson/Cecil (DU) def. #61 Smith/Tsang (NC), 8-6
3. Nze/Zsilinszka (DU) def. Reichert/Fanjoy (NC), 8-1
Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles
1. #16 Mallory Cecil (DU) def. #23 Sanaz Marand (NC), 6-4, 6-1
2. #33 Ellah Nze (DU) def. #62 Katrina Tsang (NC), 7-5, 6-3
3. #39 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Austin Smith (NC), 6-1, 6-1
4. #102 Sophie Grabinski (NC) def. #74 Amanda Granson (DU), 7-6, 6-0
5. Jelena Durisic (NC) led #115 Melissa Mang (DU), 7-5, 5-4
6. Laura Reichert (NC) def. Jessi Robinson (DU), 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1, 6, 4, 2
Players Mentioned
