The North Carolina women’s tennis team demonstrated its formidable young core this weekend as it hosted the 16th annual Kitty Harrison Invitational at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
First-year duo of Anika Yarlagadda and Kacie Harvey picked up some confidence-building victories to jumpstart their college careers while sophomore Sophia Patel added some necessary experience for the Tar Heels in the eight-team tournament comprised of some of the nation's top teams.
What happened?
Day 1:
Yarlagadda kickstarted things for the Tar Heels on Friday, adding both singles and doubles victories to her nascent collegiate resume. In her doubles matches, Yarlagadda teamed up with Harvey to defeat Tulane's team 8-4. She then paired with Patel and saw similar success against William & Mary's team in a 8-2 doubles win.
On the singles end, Yarlagadda took down senior Rifanty Kahfiani from the University of Oregon in a 6-3, 6-0 victory on the outdoor courts to end an undefeated day for the No. 1 recuit from Michigan. Fellow first-year Harvey continued the trend of young Tar Heels dominated older Oregon Ducks, defeating senior Julia Eshet 6-4, 6-0 to close out the day.
Day 2:
Friday’s success carried over into Saturday, as UNC continued to pick up quality wins over talented players from Power-5 conferences.
Harvey beat out ACC rival Camille Favero from UVA to begin her day, cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Yarlagadda followed the lead of her fellow first year and defeated Virginia’s Chloe Gullickson, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Gullickson was ranked No. 90 in the nation prior to her match with Yarlagadda.