North Carolina
UNC Greensboro
No. 2 Tar Heels Sweep ECU, UNCG
February 20, 2010 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2010
CHAPEL HILL --- Fresh off a run to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship finals that pushed the team to its highest national ranking in program history, No. 2 North Carolina scored a pair of 7-0 wins over East Carolina and UNC Greensboro Saturday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. No. 41 Sanaz Marand, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, dropped just two games in a pair of wins at No. 1 singles to lead the Tar Heels.
In the early match, Carolina (12-1) immediately took control with a trio of convincing doubles victories. Sophie Grabinski and Jelena Durisic got things started with an 8-3 win at No. 3, while Marand teamed with Katrina Tsang for an 8-4 win at No. 1 to clinch the point. The sophomore tandem of Shinann Featherston and Jocelyn Ffriend completed the sweep with an 8-4 win at No. 2.
Marand's 6-0, 6-0 win over Audrey LePottier highlighted UNC's six singles wins over the Pirates (5-3). Durisic, Zoe De Bruycker, Grabinski, Featherston and Linzee Mabrey added straight-set victories to give Carolina a 7-0 win.
The nightcap got off to a rocky start, with Jessica Eblen and Annette Rios besting Grabinski and Durisic at No. 2 doubles, 8-2, to give UNCG (2-1) an early lead.
But Tsang and Friend defeated Alex Whitehead and Stephanie Macfarlane at No. 1 and Mabrey and Suarez-Malaguti topped Valerie Behr and Mikayla Rogers at No. 3 by matching 8-4 scores to give Carolina the doubles point.
That would put an end to the drama, however, as the Tar Heels dominated singles play on all six courts.
Marand dropped just two games in a 6-0, 6-2 win over Whitehead at No. 1, and her teammates followed suit with five more straight-set victories.
Carolina, which has played 13 matches in the last month, will take an 11-day break from competition before opening Atlantic Coast Conference play March 4 against NC State.
No. 2 North Carolina 7, East Carolina 0
Doubles
1. Marand/Tsang (UNC) def. Cook/LePottier (ECU), 8-4
2. Featherston/Ffriend (UNC) def. Zhang/Vogel (ECU), 8-4
3. Grabinski/Durisic (UNC) def. Walter/Collins (ECU), 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #41 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. Audrey LePottier (ECU), 6-0, 6-0
2. Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. Jessica Cook (ECU), 6-2, 6-4
3. Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. Natalie Collins (ECU), 6-2, 6-1
4. #119 Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. Petra Vogel (ECU), 6-0, 6-2
5. Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Brooke Walter (ECU), 6-1, 6-0
6. Linzee Mabrey (UNC) def. Tamara Sachs (ECU), 7-5, 7-5
No. 2 North Carolina 7, UNC Greensboro 0
Doubles
1. Tsang/Ffriend (UNC) def. Whitehead/Macfarlane (UNCG), 8-4
2. Eblen/Rios (UNCG) def. Grabinski/Durisic (UNC), 8-2
3. Mabrey/Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Behr/Rogers (UNCG), 8-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. #41 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. Alex Whitehead (UNCG), 6-0, 6-2
2. Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. Stephanie Macfarlane (UNCG), 6-1, 6-2
3. Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. Valerie Behr (UNCG), 6-2, 6-2
4. Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Mikayla Rogers (UNCG), 6-2, 6-0
5. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Annette Rios (UNCG), 6-1, 6-1
6. Jocelyn Ffriend (UNC) def. Jessica Eblen (UNCG), 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 5*, 4, 6, 3
Players Mentioned
