North Carolina Box
CARY, N.C. – The 10th-seeded Notre Dame women’s tennis team put up a great fight against the second-seeded North Carolina. The Fighting Irish won the doubles point to go up 1-0 in the match against the nationally ranked No. 6 Tar Heels, but couldn’t sustain the momentum in singles, ultimately losing 1-4.
The Blue & Gold won back-to-back matches to reach the quarterfinal round, now 9-12 all-time in the ACC Tournament. It marked their third appearance in the ACC Quarterfinals.
In doubles, North Carolina’s top pair of No. 7 Maltby/Kajuru defeated Notre Dame’s top pair of No. 41 Molnar/Pozder, 6-0.
Then, Rawles/Hanford recorded their best doubles win of the year, knocking off No. 5 Brantmeier/Hamilton, 6-4. ND then clinched the doubles point on court three with Matsuno/Van Zyl besting Frey/Zampardo, 7-5.
UNC, whose top three singles competitors rank 2, 15, and 36, respectively, all won in straight sets on courts 1-3.
With Notre Dame’s back against the wall, the Irish women on courts 4-6 were absolutely battling to keep the ACC Tourney dreams alive.
Rylie Hanford lost the first set 4-6, but dominated the second 6-0. She was then down 2-4 in the third, before battling back to make it 4-5.
Meanwhile, Gabriella Rawles won her first 7-5, but dropped the second set by the same score.
Freshman standout Jessica Kovalcik was holding tough against Anna Frey on court five, winning the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6(6). Unfortunately, Frey got in the zone and won the next 10 straight games.
Finally, No. 121 Maddy Zampardo clinched on Hanford on court four, 6-4, in the third set.
#10 seed Notre Dame (18-9) – 1 | #2 seed North Carolina (234-2) – 4
National Rankings: #44 Irish vs. #6 Tar Heels
DOUBLES – 1
1. #7 Maltby/Kajuru (UNC) def. #41 Molnar/Pozder (ND), 6-0
2. Rawles/Hanford (ND) def. #5 Brantmeier/Hamilton (UNC), 6-4
3. Matsuno/Van Zyl (ND) def. Frey/Zampardo (UNC), 7-5
SINGLES – 2, 1, 3, 4
1. #2 Reese Brantmeier (UNC) def. #71 Bianca Molnar (ND), 6-3, 6-3
2. #15 Ange Oby Kajuru (UNC) def. Akari Matsuno (ND), 6-2, 6-2
3. #36 Tatum Evans (UNC) def. Sophia Holod (ND), 7-5, 6-3
4. #121 Maddy Zampardo (UNC) def. Rylie Hanford (ND), 6-4, 0-6, 6-4
5. Jessica Kovalcik (ND) vs. Anna Frey (UNC), 7-6(6), 0-6, 1-4, unfinished
6. Gabriella Rawles (ND) vs. Theadora Rabman (UNC), 7-5, 5-7, 1-1, unfinished
– ND –