MADISON -- The No. 22 BYU women's tennis team (5-1)came up short Thursday afternoon, losing to No. 10 North Carolina (6-0) 6-1 in the first round of the USTA-ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
"We fought and battled hard today," Coach Craig Manning said. "They were just a little too good for us today."
The Cougars gave the Tar heels all they could handle early on, fighting neck and neck for the doubles point. North Carolina got the first win of the match when Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen pulled off a win against Lauren Jones and Dolly Chang, 8-4. However, BYU pulled even with an 8-4 victory by Anastasia Sourkova and Jennifer Miccoli over Caitlin Collins and Tanja Markovic, resting the doubles point on the shoulders of the players on court No. 3. The competitors were unwilling to sacrifice points to one another, and took the match into a tiebreaker. In the end, the Tar heels were too tough, escaping with the doubles point courtesy of Austin Smith and Meg Fanjoy's 9-8 victory.
After losing the doubles point but such a slim margin, BYU was never really able to get back on track. The Cougars lost four of their six matches in straight sets, their only point coming from Dolly Chang by walkover.
"We played pretty well today," Manning said. "North Carolina is one of the toughest teams we've played, and I'd like to play them again."
The first-round loss puts BYU in the consolation bracket where they will square off against No. 7 Vanderbilt tomorrow at 9 a.m. CT. The Commodores come into the match via a 4-3 loss to No. 16 TCU. You can follow all the action live by clicking on the link below.
USTA-ITA National Indoor Championships
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 11 Anundsen/Long (UNC) def. Jones/Chang (BYU)8-4
2. Sourkova/Miccoli (BYU) def. Collins/Markovic (UNC)8-4
3. Smith/Fanjoy (UNC) def Holden/Boulytcheva (BYU) 9-8 (5)
Singles
1. No. 28Jenna Long (UNC) def. No. 33Olga Boulytcheva (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
2. No. 46 Caitlin Collins (UNC) def No. 95 Lauren Jones (BYU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Sara Anundsen (UNC) def. Anastasia Sourkova (BYU) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-5)
4. Austin Smith (UNC) def. Sofia Holden (BYU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Dolly Chang (BYU) def. Tanja Markovic (UNC) walkover
6. Charlie Tansill (UNC) def. Rana Elderwy (BYU) 6-1, 6-4