No. 2 UNC women's tennis sweeps Oregon and No. 17 Texas in ITA Kick-Off

The No. 2 North Carolina women’s tennis team hosted a successful ITA Kick-Off, sweeping Oregon and No. 17 Texas 4-0 on the weekend.

What happened?

UNC (4-0) handled Oregon (3-2) on Saturday. Sophomore Chloe Ouellet-Pizer and redshirt senior Rachael James-Baker started doubles off on the right foot, grabbing a cool 6-2 victory to open the day.

Oregon responded, however, winning the second match and leaving the doubles point up to the last match.

The pair of senior Hayley Carter (No. 5) and first-year Sara Daavettila (No. 3) sealed point for UNC with a 6-3 win.

Once the Tar Heels felt a little momentum, it was all but over for the Ducks.

UNC players won all six opening sets in the singles round, so it became a race to see who would earn points for North Carolina. Daavettila was the first singles victor, making quick work of her match in sets of 6-0 and 6-1. No. 44 first-year Alexa Graham was next on the board, with her 6-2, 6-2 win making it 3-0. No. 9 sophomore Jessie Aney put the bow on Saturday, giving UNC its fourth point with a 7-6, 6-4 match.

Sunday ended with the same result, but it was a much different story.

Like the first day of competition, North Carolina grabbed the doubles point to get an early 1-0 lead against Texas. Carter/Daavettila quickly notched a 6-1 win in doubles, and a Ouellet-Pizer/James-Baker fought back from 0-2 down to take a 6-2 victory and seal the first point for UNC.

Each singles matchup was well fought.

Aney was very impressive on court three, mixing a full arsenal of tricks against Anna Turati. At one point, the fired up Texas player even tossed her racquet onto the ground after Aney aced a serve right past her.

Aney could do nothing but smile and play harder, and worked her way to a 6-2, 6-3 win and earning the Tar Heels their first singles point.

Carter took on Turati’s twin sister Bianci, and held a 5-1 lead in her first set. But Bianca Turati did not back down, retaliating and tying the set at 5-5. This woke Carter up, however, and she promptly won the next eight games of the match. This gave Carter the 7-5, 6-0 win and made it 3-0.

Daavettila was the last Tar Heel to score, and she was in a fight from beginning to end. It wasn’t flashy, but she continued to grind and pushed out a 7-5, 6-3 win on court two.

She was immediately swarmed by every one of her teammates after sealing the sweep for UNC.

Who stood out?

Jessica Aney was fantastic all weekend, and her singles match on Sunday was one of the best performances from either day. Her ability to control the baseline matched with her speed and variety of spins made for a show.

Hayley Carter had another great set of matches, winning both of her doubles matches and winning the only singles match that she completed.

Sara Daavettila was cool and consistent, winning all four matches she competed in. The doubles pair with Carter is fun to watch, and she did well to seal both of her singles matches without a dropping a set.

When was it decided?

After winning her first singles set on Sunday, Aney was down 0-2 in the second set. With the Tar Heels only leading 1-0, Aney found her rhythm again. She went on to win six of the next seven games in the set, giving North Carolina a 2-0 lead of Texas.

With each player feeding off one another, this was a big momentum shift for UNC. Immediately after Aney’s win, Carter went 6-0 in her second set to make it 3-0 for North Carolina.

Why does it matter?

Texas is a very good outfit, and to sweep both teams on the weekend is a big boost for this team. North Carolina is now 4-0 on the season and has yet to drop a point.

With the ITA Indoor Championships less than two weeks away, experience and rhythm are essential, and these were convincing wins over stiff competition.

Where do they play next?

The Tar Heels will head down to Orlando, Fla., to take on No. 13 Texas Tech at 6 p.m.

@YonaDagalosi

sports@dailytarheel.com