Tar Heels claim ITA indoor title

In the third-set tiebreaker of the last singles match of a championship, all the pressure was on a freshman.

“The crowd was getting really loud, and I was just trying to block them out,” Whitney Kay said. “I tried not to think about how big of a match it was.”

Kay ripped a crosscourt forehand shot to win the first team national championship in North Carolina women’s tennis program history at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday.

The 4-3 win against No. 2 UCLA capped a weekend full of excitement for the No. 8 Tar Heels. Despite a tough draw, UNC defeated No. 13 Texas A&M 4-0 before topping No. 4 USC 4-3. In the semifinals, UNC crushed rival No. 3 Duke 4-0.

Senior Gina Suarez-Malaguti, who’s nicknamed “Pichi,” said she was proud of the resilience Kay showed after UCLA’s Pamela Montez forced a third-set tiebreaker.

“It was unbelievable for a freshman,” Suarez-Malaguti said. “I give her a lot of credit and to have lost a match point and be able to come back and win.”

Coach Brian Kalbas said the team’s depth helped the Tar Heels defeat four highly ranked teams.

“We have a lot of different ways we can win, and we’re not relying on one person,” Kalbas said.

The win meant redemption for seniors Zoe De Bruycker and Suarez-Malaguti, who lost in the finals of the same tournament as freshmen.

Suarez-Malaguti, the team’s No. 1 singles player, defeated the nation’s No. 6 player in the title match. She said the win hadn’t really sunk in for her yet.

“Being a senior in my last time, it’s great to leave with that title,” Suarez-Malaguti said.

Kalbas said this team reminded him a lot of that 2010 team that lost in the finals.

“It’s just a very unselfish team, and when you look at a national championship title-contending team, they have that unselfish flavor about them,” he said. “This team has that unique quality.”

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.