Seven up, seven down

Mat Batts | Staff Writer

The UNC Wilmington women’s tennis team trounced UNC Charlotte Sunday afternoon at the UNCW Tennis Complex in a quick-paced match, as the Seahawks swept the 49ers, 7-0.

Olga Blank and Angela Sekely set the tone early as they jumped out to a commanding lead in the first set of doubles action. Blank and Sekely carried their momentum through the rest of the match, handling UNCC’s No. 1 doubles team with an 8-1 final.

UNCW’s other two doubles teams followed suit in the demolition of the 49ers as Lindsay Leblang and Christina Lee won the No. 2 match by an 8-5 margin, while Chelsea Kahle and Kelly Cameron took the No. 3 match, 8-3.

The Seahawks never looked back as the match turned to the singles matchups. Christina Lee, Lindsay Leblang, and Angela Sekely made quick work of their opponents, all in 6-0, 6-0 fashion. Chelsea Kahle and Kelly Cameron wrapped up their matches soon after, downing UNCC’s fourth and fifth players 6-2, 6-2, and 6-4, 6-2, respectively.

In what turned out to be one of the closest match of the day, the Seahawks No. 1 player, Olga Blank, outlasted UNCC’s Alexandra Zinn 6-1, 6-3. With Blank’s final point, UNCW finished its clean sweep of UNCC, 7-0, and collected its fourth 7-0 win in its last five matches, including three consecutive wins by that margin.

The victory pushed UNCW to a 19-3 record and gave the Seahawks their 11th win at home. UNCC fell to 9-13.

49ers coach Michaela Gorman said, “I felt like UNCW played great tennis today. I felt like they really showed up as a team.”

UNCW coach Jenny Garrity echoed her sentiments as she praised the Seahawks for their focus and mentality. “We have played really, really disciplined,” she said. “I think our offense is where we were really good.”

The Seahawks are ranked 70th in the latest ITA national poll and will look to improve upon their impressive season Wednesday when they host Charleston Southern at 2 p.m.