University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 3 Tar Heels Sweep Gophers
3/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Playing again without three of its top players on Thursday, the Minnesota women’s tennis team lost its final non-conference match of the dual match season, a 7-0 decision against No. 3 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. The defeat was the Gophers’ seventh straight loss and concluded the team’s Spring Break road trip that also included matches against UNC-Wilmington and 43rd-ranked William & Mary.
The Tar Heels kicked off the match by winning all three matches in the doubles competition. Laura Slater and Jennifer Stone got things started for UNC with an 8-3 win over Peta Forsyth and Elianna Kantar at No. 3 and Jelena Durisic and Haley Hemm clinched the match’s first point by grinding out a 9-7 victory over Minnesota’s Doron Muravnik and Magdalena Wiecha in the top flight. North Carolina capped off the doubles sweep with an 8-5 win at No. 2.
After playing Tuesday’s match against W&M with the services of 65th-ranked singles player Natallia Pintusava and new freshman Yuliana Umanets, the Gophers reverted back to Monday’s singles lineup—a lineup without Pintusava, Umanets, or senior co-captain Alessandra Ferrazzi—on Thursday.
North Carolina went on to sweep Minnesota in singles. Forsyth (No. 4), Wiecha (No. 1), Muravnik (No. 3), Mariana Spilca (No. 5), and Kantar (No. 6) all lost in straight sets before Alexa Palen forced UNC’s Durisic into a match tiebreaking third set at the second position. Durisic claimed the super tiebreaker 10-8 to complete the sweep.
After a week off, the Gophers Big Ten schedule picks back up on April 2 against 5th-ranked Michigan at the Baseline Tennis Center. UM hosts No. 52 Michigan State the following day.
Singles
1. No. 14 Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. Magdalena Wiecha (MINN) 6-0, 6-0
2. Jelena Durisic (UNC) def. Alexa Palen (MINN) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (8)
3. No. 61 Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Doron Muravnik (MINN) 6-2, 6-0
4. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Peta Forsyth (MINN) 6-0, 6-0
5. Tessa Lyons (UNC) def. Mariana Spilca (MINN) 6-1, 6-1
6. Laura Slater (UNC) def. Elianna Kantar (MINN) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 4,1,3,5,6,2
Doubles
1. Shinann Featherston/Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Doron Muravnik/Magdalena Wiecha (MINN) 9-7
2. Jelena Durisic/Haley Hemm (UNC) def. Alexa Palen/Mariana Spilca (MINN) 8-5
3. Laura Slater/Jennifer Stone (UNC) def. Peta Forsyth/Elianna Kantar (MINN) 8-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Players Mentioned
