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Women's Tennis Edged by No. 3 North Carolina 4-3
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 17 Virginia women’s tennis team came up just short in their upset bid, falling to No. 3 North Carolina 4-3 Saturday afternoon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The Cavaliers fall to 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the ACC, while the league-leading Tar Heels (17-3, 6-0 ACC) won their 11th-straight match.
North Carolina took the early 1-0 advantage by winning the doubles point. The Tar Heels took the early edge as Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale edged Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) and Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) 8-6 at the No. 1 position. The Cavaliers drew even when Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) and Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton. Fla.) completed an 8-4 win at No. 2 over Jelena Durisic and Jennifer Stone. The opening point came down to the match at No. 3, where Gina Suarez-Malaguti and Zoe De Bruycker topped Caryssa Peretz (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) 8-6.
The Cavaliers drew even early in singles as Vierra downed Suarez-Malaguti 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 4 spot to make the score 1-1. The Tar Heels retook the lead when De Bruycker defeated Fraser 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. Virginia pulled even again at 2-2 as Hardenbergh completed a 6-4, 7-5 win over Featherston at No. 2, but UNC retook the lead minutes later as Durisic topped Tomljanovic 6-4, 7-6(3) at No. 3. The final two matches went to a third set. Peretz pulled the Cavaliers even for the third time in the match as she downed McHale 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) at No. 5. In the decisive match at No. 6, Tessa Lyons rallied from 4-1 down in the third set for a 6-3, 6-7(7), 7-5 win at No. 6 over Fuccillo to give the Tar Heels the 4-3 win.
The Cavaliers conclude their trip on Sunday as they visit No. 4 Duke. Match time in Durham is noon.
#3 North Carolina 4, #17 Virginia 3
Doubles:
1. #6 Featherston/McHale (UNC) def. #56 Hardenbergh/Vierra (UVa) 8-6
2. #28 Fraser/Tomljanovic (UVa) def. Durisic/Stone (UNC) 8-4
3. Suarez-Malaguti/De Bruycker (UNC) def. Fuccillo/Peretz (UVa) 8-6
Singles:
1. #15 Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. #53 Emily Fraser (UVa) 6-4, 6-2
2. #54 Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) def. #81 Shinann Featherston (UNC) 6-4, 7-5
3. Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. #84 Hana Tomljanovic (UVa) 6-4, 7-6(3)
4. #99 Erin Vierra (UVa) def. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) 6-1, 6-2
5. Caryssa Peretz (UVa) def. #125 Lauren McHale (UNC) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5)
6. Tessa Lyons (UNC) def. Maria Fuccillo (UVa) 6-3, 6-7(7), 7-5
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 1,2,3
Singles: 4,1,2,3,5,6