Freshmen Whitney Kay and Ashley Dai each played in doubles matches in the first tournament of their North Carolina careers without any veteran company on the court.
The Tar Heel newcomers relied on each other’s talents to secure a Saturday win over Alabama’s Mary Anne Macfarlane and Maya Jansen at the Duke Plus One Invitational in Cary.
Fall tournaments such as Duke’s help college tennis teams direct their training as they prepare for in-season spring competition.
“For us to play with all new combinations and win two of three doubles championships, especially with one pair being two freshmen, made for a great start for us,” coach Brian Kalbas said.
Senior Lauren McHale and sophomore Caroline Price defeated teammates junior Laura Slater and senior Gina Suarez-Malaguti in Saturday’s other doubles match. Although Kalbas said he was impressed with these pairings, he said the team will continue to try new duos throughout the fall.
On Sunday, Suarez-Malaguti secured a victory against Kay to be named top singles champion of the weekend. But for the senior, the win over a young teammate meant more than a title.
“Playing against Whitney was a big challenge for me but also a big encouragement,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “It sucked because I knew I was playing someone so good and who is such a hard worker. I was a little nervous, to be honest.”
Although the senior has three years of experience on Kay, Suarez-Malaguti said the match was intimidating because Kay defeated No. 17 Cristina Stancu of Texas A&M to earn the right to play her.
“Whitney Kay against the 17th-best player in nation was probably one of the most notable performances of the weekend,” Kalbas said. “She was very composed and competitive. That result was very significant for her, it showed Whitney — at college level — is going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
