Women's tennis begins title defense

Last season, the North Carolina women’s tennis team had one of the most successful campaigns of any team in recent memory, finishing 28-4 to go along with an ITA National Championship.

The title defense began this weekend in Riviera, Calif., at the 2013 ITA All American Tennis Championships as freshmen Jamie Loeb and Hayley Carter advanced through the pre-qualifying in singles and as a team in doubles.

Both players enjoyed relatively easy two-set victories in the first two rounds, as Loeb routed Michaela Bezdickova from New Mexico and Kenna Kilgo from Texas Tech, and Carter defeated Ana Vladutu of DePaul and Southern California’s Giuliana Olmos.

Loeb continued her steady play in her bracket final against Columbia sophomore Kanika Vaidya, earning the victory 6-3, 6-4.

Carter also advanced to her bracket final where she faced Boston College junior Jessica Wacnik. After losing the first set 4-6, Carter regrouped and made some needed adjustments.

“I started mixing up my shots so was always uncomfortable,” Carter said via Facebook message. “She got a little frustrated and I started taking advantage of my opportunities.”

The adjustments proved useful as Carter fought back for a hard earned victory, winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

But for both freshmen the real fun came in the doubles draw.

“I really enjoy the doubles,” Carter said. “Jamie and I are able to feed off each others energy and have a ton of fun.”

Much like singles, they navigated the first two rounds with ease, winning 8-1 and 8-4 against Texas Tech and Utah. But things got much tougher in the bracket final against Miami.

The duo fell behind early and was forced to play from behind for virtually the entire match. After a key point, Carter and Loeb were able to force a seven-point tiebreak to decide the match, which they won to eke out an 8-7 (4) victory, and earn a spot in the qualifying draw.

For Loeb, the key for the intense win was energy.

“Both of us were firing each other up and it was great to pull it out,” she said via Facebook message.

Being on a team with such high expectations could be an intimidating prospect to some, but for Carter, the expectations are all the more appealing.

“Being on such a successful team was part of the reason I came here,” Carter said. “I know we’re capable of amazing things so hopefully we can do something special this year.”