Tar Heels Defeat Cavaliers 5-2
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March 8, 2014
CHARLOTTESVILLE – No. 12 North Carolina defeated No. 5 Virginia 5-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference women’s tennis action Saturday (March 8) at Snyder Tennis Center.
Virginia (8-3, 3-1 ACC) won the doubles point and Stephanie Nauta (Galveston, Texas) stayed unbeaten in dual play with a 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 83 Whitney Kay in the loss. North Carolina (12-3, 4-1 ACC) claimed five singles matches to post the win.
The Cavaliers began the match by winning the doubles point. UNC took the early advantage with a win at No. 2, as ninth-ranked Hayley Carter and Jamie Loeb topped Danielle Collins (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Li Xi (Kunming, China) 8-3. Virginia drew even seconds later as seventh-ranked Julia Elbaba (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and Rachel Pierson rallied from an early 4-1 deficit to top fifth-ranked Caroline Price and Whitney Kay 8-5. With the opening point on the line, Maci Epstein (Winter Park, Fla.) and Nauta upset 32nd-ranked Kate Vialle and Laura Slater 8-6 to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead in the match.
Singles play was close as each team won three first sets. The Cavalier lead doubled to 2-0 with Nauta’s win over Kay at No. 4 singles. The Tar Heels recorded their first point at No. 6 where Tessa Lyons defeated Marie Faure (Toulouse, France) 6-3, 6-4. Sixth-ranked Carter tied the match for North Carolina as she downed Collins 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.
In a battle of two of the top players in the nation, top-ranked Loeb topped fourth-ranked Elbaba 6-1, 7-5 at No. 1 singles to give UNC a 3-2 lead. Each of the final two matches went to decisive third sets. At No. 3, Price came back from dropping the first set to top Pierson 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the Tar Heels’ victory. Vialle edged Epstein 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) at No. 5 singles to make the final margin 5-2.
The Cavaliers host Maryland in ACC action Sunday. First serve at Snyder Tennis Center is set for 12 p.m. Live video and stats will be available at VirginiaSports.com.