On Saturday, the No. 1 North Carolina women’s tennis team (24-0, 10-0 ACC) bested the No. 11 Miami Hurricanes (11-5, 6-3 ACC), 5-2, indoors at the renovated Cone-Kenfield complex.
What happened?
In the third match of doubles play, graduate Abbey Forbes and junior Reilly Tran were tested early with a series of quick volleys and difficult-to-contain backhands from Miami’s Audrey-Boch Collins and Mia Mack. Falling into an early two-game deficit, the pair’s resilience propelled the Tar Heels to a 6-3 victory that would clinch the doubles point for UNC.
First-year standout Reese Brantmeier continued her dominant doubles play from the previous Florida State matchup, quickly cutting from difficult angles and producing several aces with her powerful serve. Low strike contributions from senior Elizabeth Scotty were crucial in the duo’s 6-3 winning effort in match one.
Match two saw plenty of lets and faults from the Hurricanes’ Isabella Pfenning and Alexa Noel. Junior Fiona Crawley was unstoppable via an unpredictable slicing backhand. Spikes from the frontcourt sophomore Carson Tanguiling notched several break points for UNC, which eventually fell 6-4.
Singles performances fortified UNC’s roster depth across the board.
Commanding first-set showings by No. 1 Crawley, No. 14 Tanguiling, No. 80 Scotty, and No. 35 senior Anika Yarlagadda gave North Carolina substantial momentum. Crawley secured the first singles point for the Tar Heels 6-1, 6-0. Tanguilig quickly earned a second point with a 6-1, 6-0 victory of her own against Pfenning. Subsequent efforts from Scotty (6-2, 6-1) and Yarlagadda (6-3, 6-0) padded a momentous North Carolina triumph on Saturday.
No. 15 Brantmeier was involved in a back-and-forth clash with Miami’s No. 11 Alexa Noel. Losing the first set 6-3, Brantmeier mounted a substantial comeback with four consecutive games won in the second set. Despite falling short 6-3, 6-4, the high-octane, top-15 matchup was a highlight of the afternoon for spectators.
