The No. 1 North Carolina women’s tennis team (29-0) defeated No. 4 Virginia (18-6), 4-0, in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
What happened?
No. 11 sophomore Carson Tanguilig and junior Fiona Crawley found success early with a dominating 6-3 win in doubles play. Following a loss from No. 16 senior Elizabeth Scotty and freshman Reese Brantmeier, attention tuned to junior Reilly Tran and graduate Abbey Forbes to decide the doubles point.
In a highly contested match, Tran and Forbes entered the final games tied 5-5. After a double fault from Virginia, the Tar Heels secured the doubles point with a 7-5 win.
Entering singles play, every Tar Heel won their first set with the exception of No. 6 Brantmeier and No. 37 senior Anika Yarlagadda. In the second set, Scotty continued to shine. By holding Virginia’s Hibah Shaikh to four points, Scotty earned the first singles point.
Crawley also found the same success. In both sets, Crawley held Virginia’s Natasha Subhash to a mere two points. Quickly afterward, Tanguilig also finished the match winning the second set 6-3. North Carolina ended with a 4-0 win.
Who stood out?
Scotty proved to be a point of consistency for the Tar Heels once again. By only giving up one game in the first set, Scotty refused to let Virginia take the momentum. Crawley’s quick pace and smart returns also led to the same results. With a strong finish from Tanguilig to close the match, the Tar Heels remained on top through the trio’s combined efforts.
