UNC women's tennis rallies to advance to NCAA semis

Orlando, Fla. — Despite dropping the doubles point for the second consecutive match, the UNC women's tennis team (33-1) rallied in singles play to defeat the No. 8 Texas Longhorns (24-5) 4-2 on Wednesday evening in the NCAA Quarterfinal matchup at the USTA Tennis Campus in Orlando, Florida.

With the win over the Longhorns, North Carolina advanced to its third consecutive Final Four and its fourth appearance in the last five seasons.

To begin the day, the doubles tandem of Elizabeth Scotty and Carson Tanguilig won 6-2 on court two to give the Tar Heels the doubles edge. Texas responded with back-to-back doubles victories on courts one and three to clinch the doubles point and entered singles play with a 1-0 advantage.

North Carolina quickly climbed out of the 0-1 deficit after Reilly Tran won 6-2, 6-2 on court five to tie the match at one apiece. A few moments later, the Longhorns responded with a win on court three to regain the lead (1-2). On court one, freshman Reese Brantmeier won 6-2 in her first set and clawed back in set two to win 7-5 and tied the match at two apiece. Top-ranked singles player Fiona Crawley followed suit with a 6-1, 7-5 victory on court two to give the Tar Heels the 3-2 advantage. A few moments after Crawley won, Anika Yarlagadda clinched the match for North Carolina after she won 6-4, 6-3 on court six. 

Elizabeth Scotty's match went unfinished.

Singles

No. 8 Reese Brantmeier (UNC) def. No. 74 Nicole Khirin (UT) 6-2, 7-5

No. 1 Fiona Crawley (UNC) def. No. 95 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) 6-1, 7-5

No. 116 Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. No. 28 Carson Tanguilig (UNC) 2-6, 3-6

No. 107 Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) vs. Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) 6-7, 3-3, UF

No. 100 Reilly Tran (UNC) def. Nicole Rivkin (UT) 6-2, 6-2

No. 38 Anika Yarlagadda (UNC) def. Malaika Rapolu (UT) 6-4, 6-3 (clinch)

Doubles

No. 26 Chavatipon/Zaynalova (UT) def. Crawley/Forbes (UNC) 5-7 (clinch)

Scotty/Tanguilig (UNC) def. Pachkaleva/Rivkin (UT) 6-2

Khirin/Rapolu (UT) def. Brantmeier/Tran (UNC) 4-6

Order of Completion:
Singles 5, 3, 1, 2, 6
Doubles 2, 3, 1

Up Next                                                                                                          
The Tar Heels will face the winner of Georgia and Michigan in the NCAA Semifinals on Friday, May 19th at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.