University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
No. 8 Tar Heels Win 10th In A Row
March 30, 2012 | Women's Tennis
March 30, 2012
ATLANTA, Ga. --- No. 8 North Carolina won its 10th dual match in a row and improved to 5-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 4-3 win over No. 24 Georgia Tech Friday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center. Carolina took the doubles point for the eighth straight match and then got singles wins from Lauren McHale, Shinann Featherston and Gina Suarez-Malaguti to win the dual.
Carolina (15-4, 5-0 ACC) took the day's opening point thanks to doubles wins on courts two and three. No. 71 Haley Hemm and Tessa Lyons were first to finish, topping Lynn Blau and Elizabeth Kilborn on court two, 8-5. The win pushed the duo to a team-best 11-1 on the spring.
Caroline Price and Suarez-Malaguti then clinched the point with an 8-3 win over Christina Ngo and Muriel Wacker on court three, 8-3.
In a top-10 battle on court one, No. 4 Featherston and McHale and Tech's No. 10 tandem of Jillian O'Neill and Alex Anghelescu fought to a 5-5 tie before the match was abandoned.
Georgia Tech (9-8, 3-3 ACC) tied the dual at 1 with No. 17 O'Neill's 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 30 Zoe De Bruycker on court one.
Suarez-Malaguti restored the Tar Heel lead, dismissing Ngo on court four in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
No. 100 Featherston pushed it to 3-1 with a 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 victory over Caroline Lilley on court three.
The Yellow Jackets got it back within one for at 3-2 thanks to Jasmine Minor's 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 98 Price on court five, but the hosts would get no closer.
No. 33 McHale took the opening set from No. 108 Kilborn on court two, 7-5, before the Georgia Tech junior evened the match at a set all. McHale dominated the final set, however, to finish the win, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, and clinch the dual.
Georgia Tech got the final point of the day on court six as Lynn Blau outlasted Tessa Lyons in three sets, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Carolina will put its 10-match winning streak on the line Sunday when the Tar Heels face No. 23 Clemson at noon at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center.
No. 8 North Carolina 4, No. 24 Georgia Tech 3
Doubles
1. #4 Featherston/McHale (UNC) vs. #10 O'Neill/Anghelescu (GT), 5-5 DNF
2. #71 Hemm/Lyons (UNC) def. Blau/Kilborn (GT), 8-5
3. Price/Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Ngo/Wacker (GT), 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. #17 Jillian O'Neill (GT) def. #30 Zoe De Bruycker (UNC), 6-2, 6-3
2. #33 Lauren McHale (UNC) def. #108 Elizabeth Kilborn (GT), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
3. #100 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Caroline Lilley (GT), 6-1, 6-7, 6-1
4. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Christina Ngo (GT), 6-3, 6-0
5. Jasmine Minor (GT) def. #98 Caroline Price (UNC), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Lynn Blau (GT) def. Tessa Lyons (UNC), 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 6
Players Mentioned
