North Carolina
Miami
No. 1 Carolina Claims ACC Regular Season Title
April 17, 2010 | Women's Tennis
April 17, 2010
CHAPEL HILL --- No. 1 North Carolina claimed its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title since 1987 with a 4-3 win over No. 11 Miami Saturday at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Sanaz Marand rallied from a set down to defeat No. 6 Laura Vallverdu at the top of the singles lineup to clinch the victory for the Tar Heels, who improved to 23-3 overall and 10-0 in the ACC. Miami, which had a 13 match winning streak snapped with the loss, dropped to 16-4 and 9-1 in the league.
Shinann Featherston and Jocelyn Ffriend got Carolina off to a fast start in doubles, topping Anna Bartenstein and Caludia Wasilewski on court three, 8-4.
The final two matches would need extra games, with No. 2 first to finish.
Sophie Grabinski and Jelena Durisic ran out to a 7-3 lead over Bianca Eichkorn and Danielle Mills, but the Miami duo won four straight games to tie the match at 7. The Tar Heel pair righted the ship, however, breaking to take an 8-7 lead before serving out the match to give Carolina the point.
No. 1 doubles was decided in a tiebreak, with the sixth-ranked tandem of Vallverdu and Gabriela Mejia outlasting Marand and Katrina Tsang, 9-8 (1).
UNC quickly moved ahead 2-0 thanks to the continued strong play of Gina Suarez-Malaguti. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., freshman improved to 10-1 and 7-1 in ACC matches with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Danielle Mills at No. 4.
Miami got its first point of the day on court five, as No. 96 Mejia handed Featherston a 6-3, 6-2 defeat, just the third of the spring for the sophomore standout.
But Carolina extended its lead to 3-1 a short time later as No. 118 Grabinski topped Wasilewski in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Grabinski improved to 18-3 this spring with the win and picked up her sixth ACC victory.
The final three matches would go the distance, as the top three players for each team battled for over two hours.
After dropping the opening set on court two, 6-0, No. 42 Tsang forced a third set with a 7-5 win over No. 34 Eichkorn in the second. But the Raleigh, N.C., senior was unable to keep the momentum and fell to Eichkorn, 6-0, 5-7, 6-1, pulling Miami to within one at 3-2.
For the second time in the last four matches, however, it was Marand who scored the win that put Carolina over the top.
Vallverdu, the NCAA singles runner-up a year ago, took the opening set, 7-5, before Marand evened the match at a set all. The Hurricane senior held serve to open the third, but from there it was all Marand, as the Tar Heel No. 1 finished off the come-from-behind victory by winning six of the final seven games to claim a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 triumph.
UM got the final point of the afternoon on court three, as No. 79 Bartenstein rallied to beat Durisic, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
The win, which guarantees UNC the top seed in next week's ACC Championship in Cary, N.C., ties the league record for conference victories in a season and gives Carolina a shot at the first 11-0 mark in ACC history. An ACC team last ran the table in 2004, when Clemson finished a perfect 8-0. No team has swept the regular season since the ACC expanded to 12 schools in 2006.
Sunday's regular season finale is also Senior Day for Grabinski, Marand, Tsang and Linzee Mabrey. First serve for the match against No. 15 Florida State is set for 1 p.m. Admission is free.
No. 1 North Carolina 4, No. 11 Miami 3
Doubles
1. #6 Vallverdu/Mejia (UM) def. Marand/Tsang (UNC), 9-8 (1)
2. Grabinski/Durisic (UNC) def. Eichkorn/Mills (UM), 9-7
3. Featherston/Ffriend (UNC) def. Bartenstein/Wasilewski (UM), 8-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #30 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. #6 Laura Vallverdu (UM), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
2. #34 Bianca Eichkorn (UM) def. #42 Katrina Tsang (UNC), 6-0, 5-7, 6-1
3. #79 Anna Bartenstein (UM) def. Jelena Durisic (UNC), 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
4. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Danielle Mills (UM), 6-2, 6-2
5. #96 Gabriela Mejia (UM) def. Shinann Featherston (UNC), 6-3, 6-2
6. #118 Sophie Grabinski (UNC) def. Caludia Wasilewski (UM), 7-6 (4), 6-2
Order of finish: 4, 5, 6, 2, 1*, 3
Players Mentioned
