No. 1 UNC women's tennis prepares for challenging indoor season

After a successful fall, the top-ranked North Carolina women’s tennis team will kick off its spring season on Jan. 13 against Elon at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.

The indoor season will span from Jan. 13 to Feb. 12, concluding with the ITA National Indoor Championship in Seattle, Washington. The defending NCAA national champions are vying for their fifth consecutive ITA National Team Indoor title and a strong start to the team season.

Here’s a look at UNC’s schedule and talented roster heading into the first phase of the spring season:

Strength of schedule

Ahead of the outdoor season, the Tar Heels will face multiple high-ranked teams that will test the caliber of their veteran roster. 

On Jan. 20 and 21, North Carolina will clash with No. 11 Auburn and No. 3 Georgia before the ITA Kickoff Weekend, which will determine the team that advances to the indoor tournament. 

Last year, UNC routed the then-No. 15 Auburn Tigers, 6-1, and then-No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs, 5-2, to end the indoor season undefeated. 

Georgia enters the spring with five singles players ranked in the top 125 and two doubles pairs in the top 60. As a top-three matchup, the contest versus the Bulldogs will serve as an important trial before the team indoor tournament where the Tar Heels will compete against the best teams in the country. 

Veteran roster

North Carolina returns all their top seven singles players for the 2024 season. Currently, six of the seven returners are ranked in the top 45 of collegiate singles players. 

Last year’s No. 1, senior Fiona Crawley, is the only player not currently listed in the top 125 after the senior decided to compete with Team USA in the Master'U BNP Paribus and participate in pro-level tournaments during the fall. Crawley returns to UNC’s roster as the reigning ITA National Player of the Year after earning a 27-2 record in singles during the 2023 season. 

No. 5 sophomore Reese Brantmeier swept the 2023 ITA National Fall Championships in November, winning both the singles and doubles titles with her partner, senior Elizabeth Scotty. Brantmeier concluded the fall with a 17-3 record in singles and enters the indoor season ranked No. 1 in doubles with Scotty. 

No. 7 junior Carson Tanguilig and No. 9 senior Anika Yarlagadda are the final two Tar Heels ranked top ten in singles. 

The only first-year listed on UNC’s roster this season, Thea Rabman, checks in at No. 32 in the singles rankings. Rabman, the No. 1 recruit out of New York, completed her first fall season with a 12-5 record and will offer depth to the Tar Heels' singles rotation. 

With all three of last year’s starting doubles pairs ranked in the top 25, North Carolina enters the spring as a force to be reckoned with for the doubles point. 

Last season, Brantmeier and Scotty finished as runners-up in the 2023 NCAA Doubles Championship to fellow Tar Heels Crawley and Tanguilig, who now enter the indoor season ranked 23rd. After finishing the fall with an 8-4 record, senior Reilly Tran and graduate student Abbey Forbes check in at No. 11 in the ITA doubles rankings. 

As UNC will likely face tough singles competition during the indoor season, dominating doubles play will be a key to collecting an early lead and getting off to a strong start in tightly-contested matches. However, even without the doubles point, North Carolina’s talented slate of singles players are capable of securing the program’s eighth ITA National Team Indoor title. 

@carolinewills03

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