UNC overcame an early injury to ACC Player of the Year Reese Brantmeier in singles to beat No. 13 LSU 4-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals in Waco, TX Thursday afternoon. Carolina is back in the Final Four for the fourth time in five seasons.

The No. 5 Tar Heels swept the doubles competition, with Carson Tanguilig and Susanna Maltby winning 6-3 on No. 2 court, while Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton won in a tiebreaker, 7-6, on No. 1 court to clinch the doubles point in favor of UNC. Thea Rabman and Tatum Evans finished off a 7-5 win on No. 3 court as Brantmeier and Hamilton’s match was concluding.

The match took a somber turn in singles, as Brantmeier was forced to retire from her match after injuring her knee while serving and had to be helped off the court. Brantmeier missed much of the 2024 spring season with a meniscus injury in the same knee. The retirement gave LSU its first point of the match.

The rest of the Tar Heels appeared unfazed in singles, though, as Tanguilig rolled on No. 5 court with a 6-1, 6-1 win against the Tigers’ Kinaa Graham. LSU tied the match again with a win on No. 4, but straight-set victories from Claire Hill (6-4, 6-3 on No. 6) and Evans (6-1, 6-2 on No. 3) clinched the match in favor of Carolina.

With the win, UNC is now 27-4 and has won 12 straight matches. Carolina now advances to the national semifinals to face No. 1 overall seed Georgia Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern. The Tar Heels have already defeated the Bulldogs once this season, winning 4-3 in Athens on February 1.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Nate Skvoretz


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