UNC women, Virginia men win ACC Tourney titles in Rome
— Emotions turned from excitement to anxiety at the drop of a tennis ball Sunday at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College. When the nerves had reached their climax, however, there were tales of repeating and redemption.
The University of North Carolina overcame a 3-2 deficit in a matter of seconds to win the Atlantic Coast Conference women’s championship for the second year in a row, while Virginia got a thrilling three-set victory from J.C. Aragone to complete a 4-3 win over No. 1 Wake Forest for the ACC men’s title.
It was the reverse of the outcome from last year’s tournament finals where the Demon Deacons defeated the Cavaliers by the same score.
“It was pretty remarkable, but I’m not surprised. It’s J.C. J.C. has a heart of gold and has been through a lot of adversity,” Virginia head coach Brian Boland said.
North Carolina’s women had to fight through the early going in the singles after their opponent, Georgia Tech, made quick work of the Tar Heels in the doubles matches to earn a 1-0 advantage to start the final round. Singles wins by Haley Carter and Chloe Ouellet-Piz- er helped push the match to a 2-2 tie before the Yellow Jackets’ Nami Otsuka completed a three-set comeback, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, to make it 3-2.
With top-seeded North Carolina’s Jessie Aney and Alexa Graham both in the third set at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively, and the Tar Heels needed victories on both courts to claim the title, all eyes turned to them. The suspense ended simultaneously, however, as each player won match point at the exact same time to set the 4-3 final score.
“It’s amazing. I’ve been (at North Carolina) 14 years and this is only our third championship. So to win back to back is truly amazing,” North Carolina head coach Brian Kalbas said. “It’s a tribute to our hard work, dedication and commitment to get better and strive for greatness.”
The day’s dramatics were the exclamation point on what was announced by the ACC as a record-setting tennis tournament for the conference. The official attendance for the five-day event was given as 1,853, a new high mark for the tournament, which was moved to Rome this year following the ACC’s relocation of its neutral-site championships from North Carolina in response to House Bill 2.
The state’s legislature recently repealed the restrictions set by the controversial “bathroom law,” and the ACC has restored the state’s eligibility to host its championship events for the upcoming academic year. Included in that is the return of the ACC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships to Cary, North Carolina, where the event was held from 2009-2016.
Carter, the 2017 ACC Player of the Year, was named the women’s championship’s Most Valuable Player after starting the Tar Heels’ comeback. Aragone’s match-clinching performance for Virginia earned him Most Valuable Player for the men’s championships.
The Cavaliers’ title was the program’s 11th overall and Boland has been at the helm for each of them, putting him at second for most conference championships by a head coach. He is set to leave Virginia at the conclusion of the season to become USTA Player Development’s head of men’s tennis.
“It’s been an unbelievable ride in college tennis,” said Boland. “It’s hard to leave something I love so much, but it was time for a greater challenge and the time has come. I absolutely love college tennis.”