Carolina women’s tennis wrapped up its run at the ITA Sectionals in Philadelphia with Maddy Zampardo delivering the biggest result of the weekend. On Sunday, she was the lone Tar Heel in action and came through in the playoff 5-8 round of singles, beating NC State’s Victoria Osuigwe in three sets to secure a place in the NCAA Individual Championships.
The win sends Zampardo to the national stage in both singles and doubles, making her the only Tar Heel this season to qualify for both events at NCAAs.
Zampardo’s path through the weekend was strong from the start. She opened with a straight-sets win over Princeton’s Pearlie Zhang on Thursday, then added another victory Friday against Yale’s Leena Friedman. Saturday brought an all-UNC matchup, where Theadora Rabman got past Zampardo 7-5, 6-4 before Zampardo finished her weekend with the clincher on Sunday.
North Carolina also picked up several other results across the four days. No.
85 Alexis Nguyen rolled through McNeese State’s Salome Fluri on Thursday, then blanked Jackson State’s Paula Corbalan 6-0, 6-0 on Friday and beat Michigan’s Reese Miller on Saturday. Rabman was steady as well, taking down Jacqueline Soloveychik of BC on Thursday and Alyssa James of Virginia on Friday before falling to Zampardo’s teammate on Saturday.
In doubles, UNC posted wins from Evans/Hamilton, Nguyen/Manning, and Frey/Rabman on Thursday. Evans and Hamilton kept rolling Friday with a win over Penn’s Schlepphorst and Velaga, and they added another Saturday against Virginia’s Zozaya Menendez and Lam. Frey and Rabman also battled to a win Thursday over Princeton’s Chhiv and Zhang.
The weekend also included losses for Tatum Evans, Alanis Hamilton, Avery Nguyen, and Anna Frey in singles, along with doubles defeats for Frey/Rabman, Ogilvy/Friedman, and Nguyen/Manning.
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Tar Heels Face A Quick Gut Check With Duke Suddenly Next
No. 20 Carolina volleyball ran into a buzz saw against No. 2 Pitt, dropping the match in straight sets by scores of 20-25, 14-25 and 19-25. Safi Hampton, Chelsea Thorpe, Bridget Malone, Laynie Smith and Meghan Clifford were among the key Tar Heels trying to steady things, but Pitts level of play left little room for Carolina to settle in.
The timing makes the loss sting a little more, because the schedule does not offer much breathing room. Duke is next, and the Tar Heels will see the Blue Devils twice, on Nov. 12 and Nov. 15, turning this into a quick gut check for a Carolina team that has to reset fast and carry something useful out of a tough night. [Read more 🡒]
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Blacks chance came after a teammate was ruled out because of illness, but the bigger takeaway for Tar Heels fans is how well he handled the moment. A player long valued for his defense and versatility is now giving Sacramento a stronger reason to keep him in the rotation, and if this is the start of a larger role, it could be a development worth watching closely from Chapel Hill. [Read more 🡒]
UNC May Have Found A Frontcourt Option Wyoming Has To Worry About
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The bigger question now is how much more Carolina can ask of him, especially with Wyoming on deck. Samodurovs skill set is intriguing, but there are still real questions about whether he can hold up at center against more physical play, which makes his usage worth watching as the schedule tightens and the staff looks for answers in the frontcourt. [Read more 🡒]