North Carolina
Wake Forest
No. 13 Carolina Rolls Past Wake Forest In ACC Opener
March 1, 2012 | Women's Tennis
March 1, 2012
CHAPEL HILL --- No. 13 North Carolina won its Atlantic Coast Conference opener Thursday as the Tar Heels defeated conference foe Wake Forest, 6-1, on the outdoor courts at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Zoe De Bruycker, Shinann Featherston, Lauren McHale, Caroline Price and Tessa Lyons were singles winners for Carolina, which improves to 8-4 on the season and 1-0 in ACC play.
The doubles team of Price and Laura Slater got things started for the Tar Heels, jumping out to a 6-0 lead before securing the 8-2 victory on court three.
On court one, the No. 12 team of Featherston and McHale was locked in a battle of ranked opponents with No. 56 Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert. After splitting the first eight games 4-4, the Tar Heels won the next four to take the match and the doubles point with an 8-4 win.
That left Haley Hemm and Lyons to secure the sweep of the doubles matches for the Tar Heels, and they delivered with an 8-6 win on court two.
In singles play, Carolina's McHale extended the Tar Heel lead with a quick 6-1, 6-4 victory on court three. Featherston and Price then locked up straight-set victories on courts two and four, respectively, to secure the win for the Tar Heels.
With the outcome in hand, the remaining three matches kept the excitement at a high level. Lyons clinched her victory on court six, 6-0, 4-6, 1-0, taking the tiebreak after surrendering only five points.
Wake Forest (1-5, 0-1 ACC) tallied its lone victory of the day in another three-set match, with Karen Forman defeating Carolina's Gina Suarez-Malaguti, 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (4), on court five.
De Bruycker kept the three-set trend going, coming back from down a set to record a 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (7) victory over Duncan on court one.
The Tar Heels are next in action in San Juan, Puerto Rico, taking on East Carolina and the University of Puerto Rico on March 8.
No. 13 North Carolina 6, Wake Forest 1
Doubles
1. #12 Featherston/McHale (UNC) def. #56 Duncan/Talbert (WF), 8-4
2. #41 Hemm/Lyons (UNC) def. Cutillo/Siegler (WF), 8-6
3. Price/Slater (UNC) def. Forman/Bercyte (WF), 8-2
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. #31 Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. #66 Kayla Duncan (WF), 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (7)
2. #85 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Ryann Cutillo (WF), 6-0, 6-3
3. #27 Lauren McHale (UNC) def. Kathryn Talbert (WF), 6-1, 6-4
4. #78 Caroline Price (UNC) def. Rebecca Siegler (WF), 6-3, 6-2
5. Karen Forman (WF) def. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC), 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (4)
6. Tessa Lyons (UNC) def. Brigita Bercyte (WF), 6-0, 4-6, 1-0 (5)
Order of finish: 3, 2, 4, 6, 5, 1
Players Mentioned
