March 25, 2011
Results
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
One streak had to come to an end.
Maryland's Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and Ana Belzunce defeated nationally-ranked opponents, but the third-ranked North Carolina women's tennis won four singles matches to pick up its eighth straight victory, downing the Terrapins, 5-2, Friday afternoon.
The 24th-ranked Terps (11-3, 1-3) saw their six-match winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Tar Heels (15-3, 4-0), who sit atop the Atlantic Coast Conference's standings.
Maryland was attempting to pull off its second-straight upset, having knocked off 11th-ranked Virginia Sunday.
Sanchez-Quintanar, who is ranked No. 121 nationally, remained perfect in singles this spring (13-0) with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) upset victory over 14th-ranked Zoe De Bruycker.
However, Sanchez-Quintanar did suffer the first doubles loss of her collegiate career. The junior and Jordaan Sanford, a duo which entered the match 13-0 this spring, lost to De Bruycker and Lauren McHale 8-3 at the No. 1 spot.
North Carolina was able to clinch the match with McHale's straight-sets win (6-3, 6-3) over Julia Huschke at No. 5 singles.
"North Carolina is a very good team which is well coached and disciplined," Maryland head coach Howard Joffe said. "But I'm delighted with the way we fought and performed against one of the top teams in the country."
Belzunce improved to 13-1 in dual singles with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Shinann Featherston, the 61st-ranked player in the nation.
Maryland is back in action Sunday when it plays host to fourth-ranked Duke. The Terps and Blue Devils match gets underway at noon at the Tennis Center at College Park. Admission is free.
