It’s a team that is still on the hunt. With the ITA National Team Indoor Championship less than three weeks away, Scotty said the Georgia and Auburn matches are valuable tests for the Tar Heels.
One such test came in the form of Brantmeier’s matchup against Auburn’s Ariana Arseneault.
Despite Brantmeier winning her first set 6-4 and leading the second 5-4, Arseneault began to claw out of the deficit. Kalbas said that for every good shot Brantmeier would pound towards Arseneault from the baseline, the Auburn player would hit back even better, leading the UNC sophomore to fall in the second set tie-break, 5-7. The match would have to be decided in a ten-point tie-break.
“Tie-breakers are tough because it’s really a coin flip,” Brantmeier said. “You guys are obviously really close in total points by the time you get to that point, so when it comes down to ten points, it can really go either way.”
In order to bounce back, Kalbas said Brantmeier had to figure out how to play through her frustration and finish points in more creative ways. By changing up her shots and coasting up to the net, Brantmeier clinched the sixth team point of the afternoon.
“This is our first real competitive match,” the head coach said after the Auburn match. “So you kind of figure out against a really good opponent what works and what needs to be fine-tuned, too.”
Because of his battle-tested returners, Kalbas has six seniors ready to lead, a starting lineup that can be eight-deep and a passionate team that stands on the sidelines, even in spite of an individual loss, to cheer on their teammates.
In addition, he’s also added first-year Thea Rabman, who graduate student Abbey Forbes said brings a fresh perspective and energy to their roster of veterans.
“[First-years] keep us humble,” Forbes said. “They make sure that we’re on our toes. We’re working as hard as we can, and we’re hungry. Most importantly, because we have won the national championship, we have that ring, we have won indoors four times as a team, I think that they remind us that there’s still stuff to hunt for.”
Of course, the team has their eyes set on winning another ITA indoor and NCAA title this year, but there’s some other business to take care of first. Still, Georgia and Auburn can be checked off the list.
“I don’t like to judge play in January,” Forbes said. “But gosh, we’re playing so well.”
@carolinewills03
To get the day’s news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
@dthsports | [email protected]