May 23, 2008

TULSA, Okla. --- North Carolina's doubles tandem of junior Sophie Grabinski and sophomore Sanaz Marand and Sophie Grabinski came up short in an upset attempt against No. 2 Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe Thursday at the University of Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center. Earlier in the day, Marand and fellow sophomore Katrina Tsang fell in second round singles matches.

Grabinski and Marand dropped the opening set to the Fresno State duo, 6-3, but regrouped to take the second set, 7-5. The teams were even at 4-4 before Fresno State broke the Tar Heels for a 5-4 lead and proceeded to serve out the match.

Marand took the first set against Sacramento State's Katrina Zheltova before falling in the second set, 6-1. Zheltova then took the deciding set 6-4 to complete the 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4, upset of the nation's No. 9 player. Tsang was eliminated by UCLA's Tracy Lin in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.

The losses conclude outstanding seasons for the three Tar Heel standouts. Marand's singles loss was just her second of the spring season. The Katy, Texas, product ends her season with an overall record of 37-6, including a 25-2 mark in the spring. She was also named ITA Southeast Region Player to Watch and was a finalist for the national award.

Tsang finishes her second straight All-ACC season with a record of 20-10 overall. After missing the entire fall semester due to injury, the Raleigh sophomore spent the majority of the spring in the top 30 in the country.

Marand and Grabinski, who were ranked in the top 10 for much of the season, finished 20-13 overall.

UNC will return all but one player in 2008-09, with senior Alexandra Jurewitz graduating.