May 28, 2006

STANFORD, CALIF. - The run of North Carolina's Sara Anundsen and Jenna Long in the 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships ended Sunday when the Tar Heels' top doubles team fell in the semifinals to No. 7-ranked Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter of Fresno State.

Anundsen and Long fell by a 7-5, 6-3 score in the semifinals. The UNC doubles team is ranked No. 6 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. By reaching the NCAA semifinals, both players have clinched first-team All-America status as recognized by the ITA.

Anundsen and Long went further in NCAA doubles play than any tandem in North Carolina women's tennis history. No doubles team had ever gone beyond the second round of the NCAA Championships before.

Coach Brian Kalbas will return a veteran team for the Tar Heels next season with only one senior, Tanja Markovic, on the North Carolina roster in 2005-06. Ten of 11 letter winners will return for the 2006-07 season. UNC finished No. 10 in the final ITA poll this season. The Tar Heels were NCAA quarterfinalists last year and this year they reached the Final 16 of the NCAA Championships.

The Tar Heels finished the season with a 26-7 overall record.