RALEIGH -- When North Carolina's Kate Pinchbeck's winner sailed by Duke's Amanda Johnson, the ACC champion Tar Heels stormed the court and erupted in cheers. Pinchbeck sealed the match to lead her team to a 4-3 upset over the top seed, shattering Duke's hopes of winning its 15th consecutive championship.
"UNC played aggressive," coach Jamie Ashworth said. "They stepped up on their big points, and it's not like they came out of nowhere to beat us--they're ranked top 10 in the country. To come out and have to beat a team that good three times in a year would take a great effort from us."
North Carolina gained the initial momentum and confidence after sweeping doubles play. Pinchbeck and partner Lee Bairos won eight straight games against Duke's Susie Abromeit and Katie Granson. With Hillary Adams and Kelly McCain down 7-5, Julie DeRoo and Amanda Johnson's 8-4 loss to Kendall Cline and Aniela Mojzis put the Tar Heels up by a point.
Ashworth noted that losing the doubles point was the biggest factor in the match.
"I think they got some unexpected momentum from that and I would think that we were probably favored in doubles going onto the court. For them to get that doubles point and to know they only have to win three more matches, is mentally a big release for them and
Saras Arasu, who has not lost a single ACC match this season, dominated Bairos in a 6-1, 6-4 victory, to put the two cross-town rivals even with one another.
Almost simultaneously, third-seeded Julie DeRoo lost to the Tar Heels' Julie Rotondi, 6-3, 6-2 and Katie Granson's crushed Cline 6-1, 6-0, keeping the Blue Devils and Tar Heels tied in the match.
When Kelly McCain's 6-2, 6-3 victory over Marlene Mejia gave Duke a 3-2 lead, it came down to Ioana Plesu's and Amanda Johnson's three-set battles.
Plesu took the first set from Mojzis 6-4, but then dropped the second 6-2. Continuing her second set momentum, Mojzis won six games straight to take the third set and tie up the two teams at three matches apiece.
Meanwhile, Johnson had lost the first set 6-3 and won the second 6-4. Pinchbeck, like Mojzis, also won six straight games en route to her upset over 17th-ranked Johnson. The Tar Heel won the last five points, including four errors by Johnson and a final winner to capture the crown. Pinchbeck's only loss this season came at the hands of Johnson, when the teams met in the regular season finale one week ago.
"She didn't win the match for their team," coach Ashworth said. "They got four points other places, and they played well. We win as a team and lose as a team. If anyone walks out here and says that Amanda lost the deciding match for us, then they don't deserve to be a part of our team."
The Blue Devils advanced to the finals after beating Georgia Tech 4-2 Saturday. The contest also came down to a crucial victory, with Duke capturing it this time.
After winning the doubles point, the reliable McCain stormed to another victory, this time over Jaime Wong, by a score of 6-2, 6-1. Arasu also added another victory over Laura Ozolins, 6-1, 6-0.
Granson then lost to the Yellow Jackets' Sekita Grant 6-2, 7-5, and Plesu lost to Mason Miller 7-5, 6-2. With Johnson feeling sick and having lost her first set 6-3 and down 5-4 in the second, Julie DeRoo came to the rescue by defeating Catherine Gunn 6-1, 7-5.
"I lost a little bit of focus," DeRoo said. "Because when you win the first set, you lose a little bit of focus, but when I looked around, I saw that no one was coming back. I knew they had tough matches, so I realized that they really needed my match."
The Blue Devils lacked the aggressive play against UNC that they were able to produce Saturday, and found themselves on the defensive. The team will begin its NCAA run May 10, in hopes that it can bring a different title home.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.