Baylor University Team Page
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Baylor's 29th-ranked women's tennis team closed out its five-match road swing by falling 5-2 against top-ranked North Carolina on Sunday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
"Right now, we want things to come easy," head coach Joey Scrivano said. "We want to win easy. I told them the only way you're going to win easy is you're going to have to compete hard. The harder you compete, the easier things become. The bottom line is, this group hasn't completely bought into what it takes to win."
To kick off doubles play, Gina Suarez-Malaguti and Kate Vialle notched the first victory for the Tar Heels on Court 3 over Baylor's Megan Horter and Kiah Generette, 8-5. UNC's Ashley Dai and Caroline Price clinched the doubles point with a win against Alex Leatu and Alex Clay by the same score.
Baylor's 23rd-ranked doubles tandem of Ema Burgic and Victoria Kisialeva were victorious against Lauren McHale and Whitney Kay, 8-7(2). The duo has won four matches in a row, totaling a 6-1 overall record.
No. 101 Ashley Dai extended UNC's lead by beating Maria Biryukova on court 5 in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-1. Price notched another point for North Carolina, downing Generette 6-2, 6-3. The Tar Heels would clinch the match with Kisialeva's loss against Zoe De Bruycker on Court 2, 6-3, 6-2. Soon after, UNC's 19th-ranked Whitney Kay overcame 113th-ranked Horter 7-5, 6-3, making the score 5-0.
The Lady Bears responded with two wins on Courts 1 and 6. No. 12 Burgic pulled off an upset against fourth-ranked Suarez-Malaguti. Burgic dropped the first set, 6-3, but would battle back with a 6-1 win in the second set. Burgic then won the super tiebreaker, 11-9, to take the third set, 1-0. Burgic is now 9-5 in the top spot for Baylor.
Leatu's match against Tessa Lyons was the last to finish of the day. She won her first set, 6-1, but fell 6-0 in the second. Leatu would ultimately win the third set, 7-6, in a 7-3 tiebreak. The win snapped a three-match losing streak for Leatu.
With this victory, North Carolina (13-1) now has a 3-2 all-time record against Baylor.
Baylor falls to 4-10 on the year and has lost five matches in a row for the first time since 1992. The team is also 3-10 against nationally ranked opponents and has yet to win a match on the road (0-6).
The Lady Bears will now head back to Waco for a home match against No. 47 Virginia (3-4) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The Cavaliers are coming off of a 7-0 win at Maryland.
Follow @BaylorWTennis for updates on the team all season.
