No. 25 Virginia Drops Hard-Fought Match To No. 1 North Carolina
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –It was a tight match belied by the final score, but the No. 25 Virginia women’s tennis team (10-4, 4-3 ACC) dropped a 5-2 contest to top-ranked North Carolina (18-1, 6-0 ACC) on Friday afternoon at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
It was an afternoon highlighted by three tight doubles matches, a dogfight at the top of the lineup that included an extended second-set tiebreak from senior Meghan Kelley (Falmouth, Maine), and singles wins from freshmen Sofia Munera (Pereira, Colombia) and Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.). O’Dell’s win came over the No. 20 singles player in the nation, Cameron Morra, in straight sets.
North Carolina’s lineup featured players in the top-20 nationally at the four top positions.
“I’m really proud of the way we competed against a very good Carolina team,” said Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary. “There’s a reason they are the number one team in the country. They are well-coached and compete really well. We were able to match their intensity today right from the start.
“We dropped a close doubles point, but I thought our doubles play today was as good as it’s been all season. Our focus was simply and solely on competing for every point and getting better. I felt like, for the most part, we accomplished that today. To see our two first years embrace this message and the moment was really encouraging, and I’m proud of the way they met the challenge. This is a great match to build off of as we prepare for a good Michigan team.”
North Carolina took the doubles point with victories on courts one and two by scores of 7-5 and 6-4, respectively, before closing out doubles with a 7-6 (6) win on court three.
The Cavaliers then moved into the lead in singles play, picking up back-to-back wins from Munera and O’Dell. Munera finished first, tying the overall match score at a point each with her 6-3, 6-1 victory over the Tar Heels’ Chloe Oullet-Pizer at six singles.
O’Dell followed it up with her straight-set victory over Morra, the No. 20 singles player nationally in the latest Oracle/ITA Women’s Singles Rankings. She defeated the North Carolina player 6-1, 6-3, on court four to give Virginia the 2-1 lead in the overall score.
North Carolina evened things up with a win on court three from No. 14 Sara Daavettila over Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), before reclaiming the lead with a win on court five from Jessie Aney over Hunter Bleser (New Braunfels, Texas).
The nation’s fifth-ranked singles player, Makenna Jones, clinched the match for the Tar Heels with her win on court two over Vivian Glozman (Bellevue, Wash.).
The match ended on the same tenacious note with which it started as Kelley, the No. 33 singles player nationally, battled through an intense second-set tiebreak with sixth-ranked Alexa Graham at the top of the lineup. Graham claimed the victory with a 6-2, 7-6 (11) win over Kelley to close out the match for the final 5-2 margin of victory.
Virginia will return to action on Wednesday, March 13, when the Cavaliers travel to face No. 22 Michigan in a 2 p.m. match.
No. 1 North Carolina 5, No. 25 Virginia 2
Singles
1. No. 6 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. No. 33 Meghan Kelley – 6-2, 7-6 (11)
2. No. 5 Makenna Jones (UNC) def. Vivian Glozman – 6-4, 6-2
3. No. 14 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. Chloe Gullickson – 6-3, 6-3
4. Amber O’Dell def. No. 20 Cameron Morra (UNC) – 6-1, 6-3
5. Jessie Aney (UNC) def. Hunter Bleser vs. – 7-5, 6-0
6. Sofia Munera def. Chloe Oullet-Pizer (UNC) – 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 3, 5, 2, 1
Doubles
1. No. 9 Jessie Aney/Alexa Graham (UNC) def. No. 58 Chloe Gullickson/Amber O’Dell – 7-5
2. Makenna Jones/Alle Sanford (UNC) def. Vivian Glozman/Sofia Munera – 6-4
3. Sara Daavettila/Cameron Morra (UNC) def. No. 56 Hunter Bleser/Meghan Kelley – 7-6 (6)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3