The ‘Canes took the courts on a beautiful Friday afternoon in Coral Gables and fought out a team victory over the No. 15 Blue Devils to seal their second top-25 win this season.
Iowa State transfer Xinyi Nong and senior Isabella Pfennig got Miami rolling on court one, taking the doubles point over Duke’s Emma Jackson and Karolina Berankova (6-1). The ‘Canes continued to roll, as the dominant upperclassmen duo of Alexa Noel and Audrey Boch-Collins took care of Duke’s Brianna Shvets and Iuliia Bryzgalova, 6-3, to clinch the doubles point early on.
Noel and Boch-Collins have only started being paired together these past few weeks, but they have proven to be fierce competitors when put on the court next to each other, with victories in matches over No. 9 Texas A&M and Duke. Court two played out, with senior pairing Antonia Balzert and Leonie Schuknecht sealing the victory over Duke’s Shavit Kimchi and Katie Codd, 6-4, clearing the sweep in the double’s category for the ‘Canes.
Kicking off singles play was Boch-Collins, who kept her winning streak alive by taking down Duke’s Shvets (6-4, 6-2). UM’s Pfennig sealed her win over Kimchi shortly after (6-4, 6-2). Balzert hit court three and ran away with a 6-1, 6-4, victory over Duke’s Codd to seal Miami’s team victory just six quick matches in.
Miami followed by dropping two singles matches to the Blue Devils. No. 10 Noel fought a lengthy battle with All-ACC honoree Jackson,but fell just short in the end (3-6, 6-4, 1-0). Schuknecht followed shortly after, and despite a back-and-forth rally, dropped the match to Duke’s Bryzgalova (6-2, 2-6, 6-2). Nong finished the day on a high note for UM with a victory on court six over Berankova (6-2, 5-7, 6-3).
The ‘Canes rolled into Sunday with impressive back-to-back wins over top-15 teams – No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 15 Duke – and looked to be ready to face No. 5 North Carolina.
Unlike Saturday, Miami was on the other side of the double’s clinch as UNC’s top doubles pairing of Elizabeth Scotty and Carson Tanguilig succeeded over Pfennig and Nong (6-2). The Heels followed with a 6-3 win as Fiona Crawley and Reilly Tran took down Schuknecht and Balzert.
Due to the early clinch, Noel and Boch-Collins were halted from finishing their match, in which they were down 5-4 to Carolina’s Abbey Forbes and Tatum Evans on court three.
Following a quick intermission, singles play began and No. 10 Noel took the top court over No. 25 Crawley, 6-3, 6-1, to get the ‘Canes on the board. The Tar Heels answered as No. 54 Thea Rabman claimed court six, 6-3, 0-6, 6-2, over UM’s Nong.
The Hurricanes brewed a late comeback, sealing back-to-back courts as No. 101 Boch-Collins defeated No. 85 Abbey Forbes, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4, and Balzert pulled off a major victory over Carolina’s No. 11 Anika Yarlagadda (3-6, 6-3, 6-3).
With the match all tied up at three, it all came down to the final court of UM’s No. 67 Pfennig and No. 14 Tanguilig. Pfennig battled relentlessly and pushed the match to a tie break, but fell just short, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (6), which clinched the team win for Carolina (4-3).
Despite the loss, the Canes proved they can hang with top five programs and will be a tough matchup for any ACC opponent. Miami returns to the courts on Sunday, March 10 to take on the Florida State Seminoles.