CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Alejandra Cruz and Kate Sharabura each took home a ranked singles win, but No. 26 Georgia Tech’s rally fell short at No. 5 North Carolina on Friday afternoon, 5-2. The loss moved the Yellow Jackets to 7-6 overall and 3-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Doubles
North Carolina claimed the early match lead with a pair of doubles wins to clinch the doubles point. The Tar Heels took court three first as Abbey Forbes and Tatum Evans topped Kylie Bilchev and Scarlett Nicholson, 6-2. The point was clinched in a battle on court one where Tech’s No. 16 duo of Carol Lee and Sharabura faced Elizabeth Scotty and Carson Tanguilig. The teams remained on serve at 4-all, but the Tar Heels were able to squeak out the next two games to take the match, 6-4, and clinch the doubles point.
Singles
The Tar Heels cushioned their lead, winning a pair of straight-set singles victories on courts four and two to take a 3-0 lead before Tech got on the scoreboard. Competing on court six, Sharabura earned a big singles victory over No. 102 Abbey Forbes. Sharabura won a tight first set, 6-4, and took control in the second set, jumping out with a 4-2 lead. Sharabura sealed the win, 6-4, 6-2, to setup a 3-1 match tally.
Cruz continued Georgia Tech’s rally, downing No. 24 Tanguilig on court three in straight-sets for her third ACC singles win of the year. After winning the first set, 6-4, Cruz trailed early in the second set, 1-3. But the Yellow Jacket fought back and took a 6-5 advantage before closing out the victory, 7-5, to cut the score to 3-2.
Tech’s rally wasn’t enough though as UNC won the final two matches to take the win, 5-2. Facing Fiona Crawley at the No. 1 spot, Lee kept on pace in the first set as the two remained knotted at 5-apiece. But Crawley edged out the opener, 7-5, and took the second set, 6-2, to clinch the win for UNC. Play concluded on court five where Mahak Jain faced Evans. After Evans won the opener, 6-2, Jain trailed 3-5 in the second set before battling back to take a 6-5 lead. Evans fought off the rally and forced a tiebreak where the Tar Heel edged out the win, 10-8.
No. 26 Georgia Tech returns to the courts on Sunday at No. 21 Duke. First serve is slated for 11 a.m. at the Ambler Tennis Center.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Elizabeth Scotty/Carson Tanguilig (UNC) def. No. 16 Carol Lee/Kate Sharabura (GT) 6-4 *
2. No. 73 Reilly Tran/Fiona Crawley (UNC) vs. Given Roach/Alejandra Cruz (UNC) 4-4, DNF
3. Abbey Forbes/Tatum Evans (UNC) def. Kylie Bilchev/Scarlett Nicholson (GT) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1*
*Clinched
Singles
1. No. 19 Fiona Crawley (UNC) def. No. 50 Carol Lee (GT) 7-5, 6-2*
2. No. 49 Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) def. Kylie Bilchev (GT) 6-1, 6-2
3. Alejandra Cruz (GT) def. No. 24 Carson Tanguilig (UNC) 6-4, 7-5
4. No. 16 Anika Yarlagadda (UNC) def. Scarlett Nicholson (GT) 6-2, 6-1
5. Tatum Evans (UNC) def. Mahak Jain (GT) 6-2, 7-6 (8)
6. Kate Sharabura (GT) def. No. 102 Abbey Forbes (UNC) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 4,2,6,3,1*,5
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of the development of Yellow Jackets that thrive academically at the Institute and compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
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