Carolina women’s tennis wrapped up its weekend at the ITA Hall of Fame Classic in Williamsburg, Va., and the Tar Heels left with plenty to show for it: six singles wins and three doubles wins across the event.
UNC brought four players to the six-team tournament - Alana Boyce, Alanis Hamilton, Aya Manning and Avery Nguyen - and Hamilton was the steadiest Tar Heel of the group. The junior went unbeaten in both singles and doubles, opening with a straight-set singles win over William & Mary’s Francesca Davis and later teaming with Manning for a 6-4 doubles victory over Davis and her partner. On Sunday, Hamilton followed that up by edging Liberty’s Diania Ilie in singles before picking up another 6-4 doubles win.
Nguyen matched that singles success with two straight-set victories of her own. The freshman handled William & Mary’s Nicole Lukesova on Saturday and then beat Liberty’s Milana Tsulygina on Sunday. In doubles, Nguyen partnered with Boyce and the pair finished 1-1 on the weekend.
Manning’s weekend was a bounce-back story. After dropping a tight three-setter in singles on the first day, she responded with a win over Liberty’s Celina Joseph on Sunday. She also went 2-0 in doubles alongside Hamilton.
Boyce split her weekend, finishing 1-1 in both singles and doubles. She opened with a strong singles showing and a doubles win against William & Mary before later falling to Liberty’s Yee Ching Wai in a three-set match.
Saturday set the tone for UNC’s run. Hamilton and Manning beat William & Mary’s Davis and Larsson, 6-4, in doubles, while Boyce and Nguyen took down Kernagis and Gonzalez Galino by the same score.
In singles, Nguyen beat Lukesova, 6-4, 6-2; Hamilton rolled past Davis, 6-2, 6-0; and Boyce topped Larsson, 6-0, 6-4. Manning’s day ended in a three-set loss to Rebeka Svabikova, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (4).
Sunday brought another doubles win for Hamilton and Manning, this time against Liberty’s Wai and Tsulygina, 6-4. Boyce and Nguyen fell to Liberty’s Martinez and Ilie, 6-2. In singles, Hamilton outlasted Ilie, 6-7 (3), 6-1, 1-0 (1), Manning beat Joseph, 6-4, 6-3, Boyce lost to Wai, 6-4, 6-7 (1), 1-0 (7), and Nguyen beat Tsulygina, 6-1, 6-3.
The event included William & Mary, USC, Princeton, Liberty and UNCW, and was contested in a hidden dual format. Carolina opened the weekend against William & Mary and closed it out against Liberty.
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