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Clemson
No. 2 Tar Heels Hold Off No. 9 Clemson, 4-3
April 10, 2010 | Women's Tennis
April 10, 2010
CLEMSON, S.C. --- No. 2 North Carolina won its eighth-straight match in dramatic fashion, holding off No. 9 Clemson, 4-3, Saturday afternoon at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. Carolina improved to 21-3 with the win and a perfect 8-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as the Tar Heels handed the Lady Tigers their first home loss of the season. Shinann Featherston, Katrina Tsang and Gina Suarez-Malaguti each scored singles victories to seal the victory after UNC won two of three doubles matches to take the early lead.
The two teams traded one-sided doubles wins before the point was decided on court two. Tsang and Suarez-Malaguti were first off at No. 3 after an 8-3 victory over Nelly Ciolkowski and Caroline Magnusson, before Clemson (18-4, 6-2 ACC) drew even with an 8-2 win at No. 1.
Featherston and Jocelyn Ffriend then clinched the point for the Tar Heels at No. 2, holding off a fierce rally from Laurianne Henry and Keri Wong to win, 8-6.
It was quickly 2-0 in favor of the visitors thanks to a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory by Featherston over Estefania Balda at No. 6.
But the Lady Tigers would eventually tie the match at 2 after wins from No. 102 Ina Hadziselimovic and Henry on courts three and fire, respectively.
The match would ultimately turn on court two, however, as No. 51 Tsang found herself down a set and 4-0 to No. 53 Wong. But just as she did Wednesday in the win at Duke, Tsang found a way to pull out of the deficit and rallied for a key, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
"Without question, Katrina rallying completely changed the momentum of the match," head coach Brian Kalbas said. "We were struggling some on the other courts, and I think when Kat got that second set and then took an early lead in the third, it deflated Clemson a little bit."
Carolina would clinch the dual win soon after, as Suarez-Malaguti dominated the final set to top No. 76 Ciolkowski, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1.
"Pichi has really given us a spark lately," Kalbas said of the Pembroke Pines, Fla., freshman. "We moved her up to No. 4 today and she came up with a really nice win against a ranked opponent that had given us trouble in the fall."
Clemson would get its final point on court one, as No. 24 Josipa Bek outlasted No. 32 Sanaz Marand, 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3.
UNC will close out its 2010 road schedule Sunday when the Tar Heels travel to Atlanta to face No. 20 Georgia Tech at noon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
No. 2 North Carolina 4, No. 9 Clemson 3
Doubles
1. #9 Bek/Hadziselimovic (CU) def. #11 Marand/Grabinski (UNC), 8-2
2. Featherston/Ffriend (UNC) def. Henry/Wong (CU), 8-6
3. Tsang/Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Ciolkowski/Magnusson (CU), 8-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. #24 Josipa Bek (CU) def. #32 Sanaz Marand (UNC), 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-3
2. #51 Katrina Tsang (UNC) def. #53 Keri Wong (CU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. #102 Ina Hadziselimovic (CU) def. #118 Sophie Grabinski (UNC), 6-4, 6-4
4. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. #76 Nelly Ciolkowski (CU), 7-6, 3-6, 6-1
5. Laurianne Henry (CU) def. Zoe De Bruycker (UNC), 6-3, 7-6
6. Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Estefania Balda (CU), 6-0, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 3, 5, 2, 4*, 1
Players Mentioned
