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4 THURSDAY. APRILS, 2008 Tar Heels breeze to win against NCSU CHRIS HEMPSON STAfF WRITER As tht' North Carolina mens ennis team -at at a record of 4-3 'ii Feh It). UNC coach Sam Paul decided to send hi>. team a mes " Mainly. I told them to compete H'tti'i. to compete harder." he said. "Sometimes to get your tail ieked i* a good thing for you. It woke us up a little bit. made us look at the small stuff." Or in essence. MEN'S TENNIS UNC 5 ’■< <trcs- the little things. T hrough patience and hard work iu team has gone on a remarkable tin since then, taking nothing for granted along the way. And Wednesday against in ’tate rival N.C. State, nothing hanged .is the No. to Tar Heels 15-3. 5-0 in the ACC) won their lth straight match, 5-2. And as usual, the match was all ibout the little things. l ittle things like sophomore •detail Hard) charging a seemingly inprobabie drop shot in his singles it.-li against N.C. State's Nick Awareness XIS/ ] ; Got FopST” 3 ■U ; Thursday, April 3rd - 7:00 p.m. Student- Union Audfcorium ! Sophomore Chris Kearney helped lead the Tar Heels to victory with a straight-set singles win. Cavaday. The ball was inches from the ground, yet Hardy extended his racket and volleyed the ball into the back right corner, winning the point. Little things like sophomore Clay Donato realizing on slam opportu nities to place the ball in between his opponents during doubles play. So much so that neither foe even attempted to return the shot. little things like every team mem ber congratulating the other after every point. No matter the outcome, no matter whether playing or not. And because of such actions Wednesday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. North Carolina was not to be denied. The UNC No. 10 doubles pairing of sophomore Chris Kearney and junior Taylor Fugleman started the dominance with their 8-2 defeat of W*|jfc * A GOURMET BURRITO. WITHOUT PRETENSION. Cavaday and Jay Weineker. the team ranked one spot ahead of them in the national rankings. The success continued in singles play, with Kearney winning his match in consecutive sets 6-2,6-3. The team finished off the scor ing with Hardy and senior Will Plyier displaying strong showings en route to victory. Hardy used his ever-impressive forehand with relative ease, winning 6-1, 6-4, while Plyier used the accuracy of the baseline to place shots that left his opponent befuddled, scoring victory 6-3, 6-4. After today's victory, the team will finally be able to focus on Friday 's match against rival Virginia, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation. The team looks to avenge last year's two losses to the Cavaliers, includ ing the ACC Championship Final which ended 5-0. "It's a huge opportunity for us," said senior Tristan Heinrich. “Virginia has a really great team, but we re going to try and get that win." Contact the Sports Editor at sports.unc.edu ® Clt ipctte I MEXICAN GRILL Sports Unexpected success highlighted UNC year Pringle, Larkins led Tar Heels BY SAMANTHA NEWMAN SENIOR WRITER This was the year the North Carolina women's basketball team was supposed to fall backward. After graduating Camille Little and standout Ivory Latta last year's top two scorers there were doubts about the 2007-08 squad's potential. UNC suffered another blow when senior point guard Alex Miller suffered a season-ending knee injury November 16. It sounded like the makings of a rebuilding year. Instead, the Tar Heels made program history. They swept the conference, going undefeated in the ACC for the first time ever, and they added a fourth consecutive conference tournament title. ‘People thought we were going to drop back, step down," coach Sylvia Hatchcll said in a news con ference Sunday. "And in some ways we're a bet- ’ll g DTH FILE/EMMA PATTI North Carolina senior Erlana Larkins was a central figure on a UNC squad that defied expectations this year by earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs. ter team this year than we were last year." There's no question UNC’s sea son ended in a letdown, again with out a national championship. The tears in Erlana latrkins' eyes fol lowing her team's loss Monday to Louisiana State in the Elite Eight showed her disappointment. But during a season when the Tar Heels easily could have taken a step back, two new senior leaders took the reins. Larkins and LaToya Pringle increased their individual contri butions and fueled the team's suc cess, leading UNC back to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Pringle's point total average jumped from 9.7 last year to 14.6 with this year's squad. And while the two seniors solidi fied the Tar Heels' core, their sup porting cast played essential parts in the historic season. Rashanda McCants took the momentum from the end of her sophomore campaign to become a scoring threat from every spot on the court. "We needed more scoring on the perimeter and some more dribble penetration and all, and Rashanda has really stepped up and done much more of that," Hatchell said. “Overall her skills havc^gottep ahr Daily aar Hrrl better, but her confidence is the biggest thing." McCants got help on the perimeter from freshman Cetera DeGraffenreid. The point guard had the challenge of taking over the position after Miller's injury, and the transition was nearly seamless. "I don't know if another fresh man has done more for a team than what (DeGraffenreid) has done." Hatchell said. The Tar Heels also got the pro duction they needed off the bench Jessica Breland was named the ACCs Sixth Player of the Year. with 10.6 points per game. Not only did she average double figures, but her baskets always seemed to eome when UNC needed a spark. “I really enjoy coming off the bench,” Breland said. “I really look up to Erlana and Toya. I just try to do everything that they’re not doing on the court." Next year she'll likely be leading the team down low on her own. Again, UNC will graduate two of its top players. But if this year is any indication, new Tar Heels will step up to fill the spots and keep UNC a national contender. Contact the S/x>rts Editor , ; , at sportsbrum .edu.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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