North Carolina
Duke
No. 2 Carolina Outlasts No. 7 Duke, 4-3
April 7, 2010 | Women's Tennis
April 7, 2010
DURHAM, N.C. --- No. 2 North Carolina got three-set victories from Katrina Tsang, Shinann Featherston and Sanaz Marand to rally from a 3-1 deficit to beat No. 7 Duke, 4-3, Wednesday afternoon at Amber Tennis Stadium. After dropping the doubles point and two of the first three singles matches, the Tar Heels got victories on courts one, two and five to hand the Blue Devils their first home loss in over two years.
The doubles point came down to the No. 2 position after each team claimed a victory. Duke's Elizabeth Plotkin and Reka Zsilinszka defeated UNC's Haley Hemm and Jocelyn Ffriend at No. 3, 8-5, before Carolina responded with an 8-3 win at No. 1 from the No. 11-ranked duo of Marand and Sophie Grabinski.
The Blue Devils (17-3, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) then clinched the point at No. 2, with Mary Clayton and Monica Gorny outlasting Tsang and Featherston, 9-7.
Despite the doubles loss, Carolina (20-3, 7-0 ACC) started strong in singles, taking early leads on four of six courts.
On court six, Gina Suarez-Malaguti made quick work of Clayton to even the match at 1. Suarez-Malaguti, who is unbeaten in dual match play this spring, cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Duke responded, however, winning a pair of matches in quick succession to make it 3-1. Zsilinszka topped Jelena Durisic, 6-4, 6-4, before Granson rallied from an early hole to top No. 118 Grabinski, 7-5, 6-4.
But Carolina would not go quietly, and all three remaining matches would require the full three sets.
On court two, No. 51 Tsang struggled out of the gate against No. 62 Plotkin, dropping the first set, 6-2. But the Raleigh senior would respond in emphatic fashion, handing Plotkin just her second loss of the spring, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Featherston was next off on court five after holding off Gorny, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. The Rockaway Park, N.Y., sophomore looked to be in for an easy victory after rolling to a 6-2 win in the opening set. But Gorny forced a third, and the players were on serve at 6-5 in the final set before Featherston broke for the victory.
That left it all up to Marand and Nze for the second time in as many meetings between the rivals.
Marand was in control early, taking the first set 6-4 and opening up a 3-0 lead in the second. Nze did not back down, however, as the junior won six of the next seven games to even the match at a set all.
But just as when the two met on Feb. 14, it was Marand that came out on top. The Katy, Texas, senior got an early break to make it 2-0 and held serve the rest of the way to complete the 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win.
The victory clinched the point allocated to women's tennis in the Carlyle Cup, the annual all-sports competition between the two schools. With Wednesday's victory, Carolina now leads the competition, 11.5-7.5.
The win also ended Duke's 29-match home winning streak that dated back to March 23, 2008.
Carolina now faces another critical ACC weekend, as the Tar Heels travel to Clemson and Georgia Tech. UNC faces Clemson Saturday morning at 11 before taking on Georgia Tech Sunday at noon.
No. 2 North Carolina 4, No. 7 Duke 3
Doubles
1. #11 Sophie Grabinski/Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. #42 Amanda Granson/Ellah Nze (DU) 8-3
2. Monica Gorny/Mary Clayton (DU) def. #27 Katrina Tsang/Shinann Featherston (UNC) 9-7
3. #58 Reka Zsilinszka/Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) def. Jocelyn Ffriend/Haley Hemm (UNC) 8-5
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. #32 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. #40 Ellah Nze (DU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. #51 Katrina Tsang (UNC) def. #62 Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. #39 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Jelena Durisic (UNC) 6-4, 6-4
4. Amanda Granson (DU) def. #118 Sophie Grabinski (UNC) 7-5, 6-4
5. Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Monica Gorny (DU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
6. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Mary Clayton (DU) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 3, 4, 2, 5, 1*
Players Mentioned
