March 1, 2007
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -
Forced to move inside to the Indoor Tennis Center because of rain, the No. 21 Wake Forest women's tennis team earned a huge victory in its first conference match of the season, upsetting No. 4 North Carolina, 4-3.
"The last two times we've played UNC the match has come down to a 4-3 score with us being on the losing end both times," head coach Chad Skorupka said. "Fortunately, this time we played them at home and we were able to take advantage. This was the first time we won the doubles point off of them in a long time, which proved to be vital."
The Deacs got the match started off on the right foot by taking the doubles point from the Tar Heels. Wake got wins from Christian Tara and Ana Jerman, ranked No. 49 in the nation in doubles, as well as from the team of Ashlee Davis and Sasha Kulikova. Tara and Jerman defeated Katrina Tsang and Laura Reichert of UNC, 8-3, while Davis and Kulikova upset the 17th-ranked team of Caitlin Collins and Sanaz Marand, 8-3.
Wake's only doubles loss was to Carolina's tandem of Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen, the No. 9 ranked doubles team in the nation, who defeated Alexandra Hirsch and Sierra Poske.
The Deacs (6-1, 1-0) scored multiple upsets over higher-ranked opponents in singles competition to seal the victory. With the scored tied at 3, the match came down to the winner of the contest between Hirsch and Long at the No. 1 position to decide the team winner. Long, ranked No. 4 in the country in singles, dropped the first set to Hirsch but came back to win the second. Up 5-4 in the third set with match point, Hirsch appeared to have won after Long hit her shot wide, but the call was overturned. However, Hirsch won the match on the very next point, dropping a beautiful shot over Long's head to clinch the victory for herself and the Deacs.
Wake also scored an important victory at the No. 6 position with Kulikova taking on No. 68 Marand, the reigning ACC Player of the Week. Kulikova made short work of her, however, beating her in straight sets (6-4, 6-2).
The Deacons' third singles victory came at the No. 3 position, with No. 100 Tara winning a hard-fought match against Smith, ranked 80th in singles. Tara won the match in straight sets as well, defeating her opponent 7-6, 6-3.
Anundsen defeated Poske at No. 4 (6-3, 6-4) while No. 97 Davis fell to No. 73 Tsang (6-3, 6-2) at the No. 2 position. The last Carolina point came from Collins, who defeated Jerman in three sets (4-6, 6-2, 6-3).
The victory over UNC (11-4, 1-2) was the Deacs' first win over a top 10 team since they defeated No. 6 William & Mary on March 20, 2005.
"The win today was a total team effort," Skorupka said. "We're really going to enjoy this one, but at the same time we have to begin preparing for our next match against Miami."
Things do not look to get any easier for the Deacs, who are scheduled to face the ninth-ranked Hurricanes in Florida on March 9 at 11 a.m. for their next match.
- WakeForestSports.com -
