University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Hungry For More
May 17, 2019 | Women's Tennis, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
The North Carolina women's tennis team arrived in Orlando, Fla., on Monday evening with nothing left to prove.
Winners of the last four ACC Championships and three ITA National Team Indoor Championships since 2013, UNC has experienced as much, if not more, success than any team in the country over the last seven seasons. In that span, the Tar Heels are the only team that's finished every season ranked in the top five of the ITA team rankings. Currently ranked No. 1, they'll likely continue that streak this season.
Still, despite everything Carolina has accomplished, one thing has eluded the program: An NCAA Team Championship.Â
UNC doesn't need one to validate its status among the nation's elite. The Tar Heels have already achieved that. But that doesn't mean they're any less hungry.
"I think all of us just want it so badly because we know we have every tool to be able to do something and win the championship," Makenna Jones said. "But it's not just about what you have. It's what you bring and how you can get that edge, which is so small.
"I think all of us really want to give our all to the end and we each want it for each other. … I feel like it's less of, 'Oh, crap, we can't lose.' It's more of, 'We want to win.' I actually think it's a better mindset than it could be."
And it's one this group has unsurprisingly embraced this postseason.
Recently, Brian Kalbas said this team, perhaps more than any other he's coached during his 16 seasons at Carolina, loves to compete. The players view each match as an opportunity to accomplish something. That's resulted in them posting a 32-1 record and what is guaranteed to the best winning percentage in program history.
By taking such an approach, Jones said UNC is "going out there (each match) and enjoying it rather than thinking we've got to win this or we've got to pull out this result." Kalbas doesn't expect that to change with the Tar Heels three wins away from a national title.
"We don't as a team talk about that stuff," he said. "It's enjoying the process, enjoying the match we're playing and competing and giving it everything we have. And if we're good enough and earned it, we get to play another one."
That next one comes Friday, when second-seeded Carolina faces seventh-seeded UCLA in the NCAA quarterfinals at the USTA National Campus.Â
UNC beat the Bruins 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in February. But the Tar Heels have dropped all three of their matches against UCLA in the NCAA Team Championship. Two of those losses came in the quarterfinal round. The other was in Carolina's lone appearance in the national championship match in 2014.
Jessie Aney was a high school junior back then. But seeing UNC advance that far further confirmed what she already thought, that the Tar Heels could win an NCAA title.
A year later, Aney enrolled at Carolina. And along with fellow senior Chloe Ouellet-Pizer, she's helped guide UNC through the most successful four-year stretch in program history, during which the Tar Heels have won 124 dual matches and everything but a national championship.
Yet they still can.
"This is definitely a place where I think we can do it, and I think we have the team to do it and I think we're in the state of mind to do it," Aney said. "So I'm just really excited for Orlando and to see what we can do. We're definitely not done yet."
The North Carolina women's tennis team arrived in Orlando, Fla., on Monday evening with nothing left to prove.
Winners of the last four ACC Championships and three ITA National Team Indoor Championships since 2013, UNC has experienced as much, if not more, success than any team in the country over the last seven seasons. In that span, the Tar Heels are the only team that's finished every season ranked in the top five of the ITA team rankings. Currently ranked No. 1, they'll likely continue that streak this season.
Still, despite everything Carolina has accomplished, one thing has eluded the program: An NCAA Team Championship.Â
UNC doesn't need one to validate its status among the nation's elite. The Tar Heels have already achieved that. But that doesn't mean they're any less hungry.
"I think all of us just want it so badly because we know we have every tool to be able to do something and win the championship," Makenna Jones said. "But it's not just about what you have. It's what you bring and how you can get that edge, which is so small.
"I think all of us really want to give our all to the end and we each want it for each other. … I feel like it's less of, 'Oh, crap, we can't lose.' It's more of, 'We want to win.' I actually think it's a better mindset than it could be."
And it's one this group has unsurprisingly embraced this postseason.
Recently, Brian Kalbas said this team, perhaps more than any other he's coached during his 16 seasons at Carolina, loves to compete. The players view each match as an opportunity to accomplish something. That's resulted in them posting a 32-1 record and what is guaranteed to the best winning percentage in program history.
By taking such an approach, Jones said UNC is "going out there (each match) and enjoying it rather than thinking we've got to win this or we've got to pull out this result." Kalbas doesn't expect that to change with the Tar Heels three wins away from a national title.
"We don't as a team talk about that stuff," he said. "It's enjoying the process, enjoying the match we're playing and competing and giving it everything we have. And if we're good enough and earned it, we get to play another one."
That next one comes Friday, when second-seeded Carolina faces seventh-seeded UCLA in the NCAA quarterfinals at the USTA National Campus.Â
UNC beat the Bruins 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in February. But the Tar Heels have dropped all three of their matches against UCLA in the NCAA Team Championship. Two of those losses came in the quarterfinal round. The other was in Carolina's lone appearance in the national championship match in 2014.
Jessie Aney was a high school junior back then. But seeing UNC advance that far further confirmed what she already thought, that the Tar Heels could win an NCAA title.
A year later, Aney enrolled at Carolina. And along with fellow senior Chloe Ouellet-Pizer, she's helped guide UNC through the most successful four-year stretch in program history, during which the Tar Heels have won 124 dual matches and everything but a national championship.
Yet they still can.
"This is definitely a place where I think we can do it, and I think we have the team to do it and I think we're in the state of mind to do it," Aney said. "So I'm just really excited for Orlando and to see what we can do. We're definitely not done yet."
Players Mentioned
Carolina Insider - Interview with Isaiah Denis (Full Segment) - October 27, 2025
Monday, October 27
Ethan Strand & Parker Wolfe - 2025 Patterson Medal Honoree On-Field Recognition - October 25, 2025
Monday, October 27
UNC Women's Soccer: Big First Half Helps Heels Over Syracuse, 4-2
Sunday, October 26
FB: Players Post-Virginia
Saturday, October 25