UNC women and Virginia men win college tennis championships
The GIST: This weekend, two more spring sports handed out titles in the most thrilling on-court action since Drea did revenge. What a serve.
The women: Top-seeded UNC was the first to hoist their hardware, defeating intrastate rival No. 3 NC State 4-1 on Saturday. Although the Tar Heels have been top dog in the ITA indoor game for years, this is the first time they’ve conquered the NCAA outdoor courts. Hugs all around.
- It seems all the Tar Heel women do is win: This marks the third national title won and fourth final reached by UNC’s gals this academic year alone (see soccer, field hockey, and indoor tennis). Here’s to women keeping the lights on.
The men: While the gals’ No. 1 seed took the trophy, the men’s championship weekend featured not one, not two, but three upsets, with No. 5 Virginia snagging the ’ship yesterday. The Cavaliers bested ITA indoor kings No. 1 Texas in the semis before shutting out No. 3 Ohio State in the final to repeat as natty champs. Who’s on top? ’Hoos on top.
Up next: Don’t hang up that racket yet — there’s still a ton of championship tennis to be played. Today, 64 women and 64 men kick off the singles tournaments, with the women’s and men’s 32-pair doubles championships following suit tomorrow. All four tourneys — and the NCAA tennis season — culminate with next Saturday’s finals.
- The UNC women have five singles hopefuls and two doubles pairs in these brackets, meaning the Tar Heels could take home three nattys in one week. Same for Virginia’s guys, who have three individuals and one pair in the hunt. All gas, no brakes.
