Women’s Tennis Rally Falls Short at No. 5 UNC, 5-2 – Women’s Tennis — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

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…