Congratulations are in order for the No. 3 North Carolina women’s tennis team. The Tar Heels claimed their second ITA National Team Indoor Championship in the last three years, winning 4-1 over No. 9 Georgia in Monday’s championship match at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.

UNC senior Caroline Price, who came oh so close to earning UNC the NCAA title last season, fittingly secured the winning point on court three, outlasting UGA’s Kennedy Shaffer in three sets – 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.

“They’re just amazing fighters,” UNC head coach Brian Kalbas says. “Caroline and Jamie (Loeb) and everybody just kept fighting and I’m just real proud of the effort. Fourth day, everybody’s tired. It’s just amazing to see what people can do when they push themselves to the limit.”

The UNC women's tennis team celebrated abother national championship Monday (UNC Athletics)

The UNC women’s tennis team celebrated another national championship Monday (UNC Athletics)

Price says she felt she had to come through for her team in the clutch this time around.

“I lost the national championship for us last year, it came down to my match,” Price says. “So in my mind I was like, ‘I’m a senior, I’m going to go for it because I’ve already lost it once.’ I didn’t want to go out losing and say I didn’t try to go for it.”

Looking forward to the rest of the season, Coach Kalbas says the sky’s the limit for this deep and talented squad.

“We have pretty much the nucleus of our team back from last year that got to the NCAA finals, so we’re an experience team, a talented team,” Coach Kalbas says. “We can continue to get better throughout the year.

Carolina will look to show off its outdoor skills in the coming weeks, beginning with N.C. State on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. in Raleigh.

 

Georgia vs North Carolina

Feb 09, 2015 at Charlottesville, VA

(Boar’s Head Sports Club)

 

#3 North Carolina 4, #9 Georgia 1

 

Singles competition 

  1. #8 Jamie Loeb (NC) vs. #19 Lauren Herring (UGA) 6-2, 5-7, 3-1, unfinished
  2. #31 Hayley Carter (NC) def. Ellen Perez (UGA) 6-3, 6-4
  3. #22 Caroline Price (NC) def. Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
  4. Whitney Kay (NC) def. #83 Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
  5. Ashley Dai (NC) vs. #91 Hannah King (UGA) 4-6, 6-4, 2-5, unfinished
  6. Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Kate Vialle (NC) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1

 

Doubles competition 

  1. #13 Ashley Dai/Kate Vialle (NC) vs. Lauren Herring/Ellen Perez (UGA) 4-4, unfinished
  2. Jamie Loeb/Caroline Price (NC) def. Kennedy Shaffer/Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-2
  3. Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (NC) def. Caroline Brinson/Hannah King (UGA) 6-2

 

Match Notes:

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,4,6,3)