University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
Kalbas Nabs 500th Win, UNC Holds Off Tigers 4-3
March 27, 2015 | Women's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The No. 2-ranked North Carolina women's tennis team (20-0, 8-0 ACC) faced a tough opponent in #19 Clemson (10-7, 5-3 ACC), defeating the Tigers 4-3 indoors Friday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
The nail bitter was especially important for the Tar Heels, as it revenged a 4-3 defeat last season to the Tigers and earned Head Coach Brian Kalbas his 500th career win.
“When you win that many matches, 500, it is because you have good players and they make you look good,” said Kalbas. “I'm really proud of this group tonight for fighting they way they did.
“Every match we play Clemson is a dogfight. I knew it was going to be a really tough match against a really talented team. To win in this kind of pressure cooker environment is really special.”
The doubles point went back and forth between the Tar Heels and the Tigers, one of the hardest fought for the Tar Heels all season.
#33 Whitney Kay and Hayley Carter were the first duo to finish after almost an hour of play, beating #76 Romy Koelzer/Tristen Dewar 8-5 in the match. After much back and forth play, Kay/Carter pulled away at the end, with Carter smashing the match point.
The seventh game in the match between #34 Ashley Dai/Kate Vialle and Joana Eidukonyte/Daniela Ruiz lasted almost 15 minutes, with the pairs exchanging advantages and deuces until Dai/Vialle claimed the game to make it 3-4.
Yet the UNC duo couldn't hold on, losing 6-8 to tie up the doubles matches.
The match between #13 Jamie Loeb/Caroline Price was a marathon. The sophomore/senior duo faced off against #3 Beatrice Gumulya/Jessy Rompies, battling back and forth in the match.
After gaining a 7-4 lead at one point, Clemson fought back to force a tiebreak at 7-7. The two duos exchanged tiebreak points back and forth, with some key slices and unforced errors, until Loeb hit a strong forehand to give the Tar Heels the 10-9 lead.
Clemson had the serve to stay in the match, but they couldn't keep it in play as the Tar Heels won the match 8-7 (11-9) only moments after the Dai/Vialle loss to take the 1-0 lead.
The singles session proved to be as intense as the doubles session, with the Tar Heels needing to mount comebacks on nearly every court in order to narrowly avoid defeat.
Finishing first was #18 Price on court three, who fell 6-4, 6-1 to #84 Gumulya. Clemson followed up the opening win with a 6-1, 7-5 from Dewar over #78 Dai.
Vialle tied the match back at 2-2 overall with a 6-4, 6-1 win on court six over Yuilynn Miao. Vialle was the only Tar Heel to win her first set during singles play, cruising for the victory over Miao.
However, moments later #17 Carter fell 6-3, 6-4 to #19 Eidukonyte on court two, pushing the Clemson lead to 3-2 overall with leads on court one and court four.
#9 Loeb recovered from a tought set one and then rolled in sets two and three to a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory on court one over #35 Koelzer, evening the score at 3-3. All eyes then turned to Kay on court four.
#72 Kay battled past #119 Rompies 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-3 to clinch the match for UNC. Kay asserted an early advantage in set three, going up 5-2, but had to battle through an exhausting final game to finish off the match.
The Tar Heels will be back in action on Sunday when they face Pittsburgh in Chapel Hill at 1:00 pm.
#2 North Carolina 4, #19 Clemson 3
Singles competition
1. #9 Jamie Loeb (NC) def. #35 Romy Koelzer (CU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. #19 Joana Eidukonyte (CU) def. #17 Hayley Carter (NC) 6-3, 6-4
3. #84 Beatrice Gumulya (CU) def. #18 Caroline Price (NC) 6-4, 6-1
4. #72 Whitney Kay (NC) def. #119 Jessy Rompies (CU) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-3
5. Tristen Dewar (CU) def. #78 Ashley Dai (NC) 6-1, 7-5
6. Kate Vialle (NC) def. Yuilynn Miao (CU) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #13 Caroline Price/Jamie Loeb (NC) def. #3 Beatrice Gumulya/Jessy Rompies (CU) 8-7 (11-9)
2. #33 Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (NC) def. #76 Romy Koelzer/Tristen Dewar (CU) 8-5
3. Joana Eidukonyte/Daniela Ruiz (CU) def. #34 Ashley Dai/Kate Vialle (NC) 8-6
Match Notes:
Clemson 10-7; National ranking #19; Regional ranking #5
North Carolina 20-0; National ranking #2; Regional ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,5,6,2,1,4)
T-3:43 A-174
Players Mentioned
