Wake Forest University
North Carolina
Deacs Fall Short Against Top-Seeded Tar Heels
4/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWTennis)
CARY, N.C. – The No. 8-seeded Wake Forest women's tennis team's run at the ACC Tournament came to an end on Friday with a hard-fought, 4-1 loss to top-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinal round at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C. The quarterfinal appearance was the Demon Deacons' first since 2010.
Emma Davis gave the Deacons their lone point on the day with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of 39th-ranked Whitney Kay at the No. 2 singles spot.
The No. 28-ranked Deacs' record on the season dipped to 19-9, including 9-9 against ranked opponents, with the loss. The second-ranked Tar Heels improved to 27-2 and remained perfect against ACC competition.
North Carolina struck first by claiming the doubles point. The Tar Heels needed one doubles win to get on the board after the fourth-ranked pairing of Kay and Hayley Carter took a 6-2 win at No. 1.
After the Demon Deacons erased deficits at both the No. 2 and No. 3 positions to get the matches back on serve, the Heels got game-winning service breaks on both courts seconds apart.
Ashley Dai and Chloe Ouellet-Pizer notched the winning point in a 6-4 decision over Luisa Fernandez and Andrea Retolaza Andrade at No. 3 just before No. 89-ranked Kate Vialle and Jessie Aney completed a 7-5 victory against Davis and Samantha Asch at No. 2.
Despite dropping the first set on five of six singles courts, Wake Forest would not go down without a fight.
The Tar Heels padded their lead with straight-set wins at No. 6 and then No. 3, but after that, Davis put the Demon Deacons on the board to make it 3-1 with the 27th singles win of her freshman campaign. The victory was her fourth this season against a ranked opponent.
From there, Joanna Zalewski came back in her second set against Ouellet-Pizer to force a third frame at No. 4 and Asch erased a 4-1 second-set deficit against Marika Akkerman to knot the score at five at No. 5. North Carolina, however, sealed a semifinal berth when the top-ranked Carter narrowly defeated No. 64 Guerin at the top position, 7-5, 6-4, to make it 4-1.
The Demon Deacons will now await their NCAA Tournament fate. The NCAA Division I women's tennis selection announcement show will air on NCAA.com on Tuesday, May 3 at 5 p.m. The tournament itself will begin on May 13 on the campuses of the 16 regional hosts.
No. 2 North Carolina 4, No. 28 Wake Forest 1
Singles competition
1. No. 1 Hayley Carter (NC) def. No. 64 Kimmy Guerin (WF) 7-5, 6-4
2. Emma Davis (WF) def. No. 39 Whitney Kay (NC) 6-3, 6-3
3. No. 57 Jessie Aney (NC) def. Anna Ulyashchenko (WF) 6-3, 6-2
4. Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (NC) vs. Joanna Zalewski (WF) 6-2, 5-7, 1-1, unfinished
5. Marika Akkerman (NC) vs. Samantha Asch (WF) 6-4, 5-5, unfinished
6. Ashley Dai (NC) def. Luisa Fernandez (WF) 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6,3,2,1
Doubles competition
1. No. 4 Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (NC) def. No. 56 Kimmy Guerin/Anna Ulyashchenko (WF) 6-2
2. No. 89 Kate Vialle/Jessie Aney (NC) def. Samantha Asch/Emma Davis (WF) 7-5
3. Chloe Ouellet-Pizer/Ashley Dai (NC) def. Andrea Retolaza/Luisa Fernandez (WF) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
Players Mentioned
