Michigan
North Carolina
Wolverines Drop Heartbreaker at No. 5 North Carolina in NCAA Tournament
5/8/2026 9:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Chapel Hill, N.C. (Chewning Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Tournament Third Round
Score: #5 North Carolina 4, #12 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (21-7), UNC (27-3)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team tied the team match at 2-2 and was in a pair of third sets after falling behind 3-2 but could not complete the comeback win, falling 4-2 at No. 5 North Carolina in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening (May 8) at the Chewning Tennis Center.
UNC took the doubles point, winning matches at No. 1 and No. 3. Michigan's No. 2 pair of Reese Miller and Laura Rahnel went up a break at 2-1 and kept it the rest of the way, getting a 6-3 win to even the doubles ledger at one match each after the Tar Heels won 6-2 at the top spot.
U-M was down 4-1 at No. 3 before storming back to tie the match at 4-4. North Carolina grabbed three break points in the ensuing game on Michigan's serve, with U-M fighting off the first two to get to the deuce point. Michigan pushed a forehand long as UNC regained the break, serving out the match in the next game for a 6-4 win to take the 1-0 lead in the team match.
Michigan won four first sets in singles action, wresting control of the match back from North Carolina.
The Tar Heels won the first singles match to finish at No. 2, pushing the lead to 2-0.
Emily Sartz-Lunde got Michigan on the board behind a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 4 over No. 116 Maddy Zampardo. She won the final three games of the first set, breaking at 4-3 and riding the momentum the rest of the way in a 6-3 win. It was all Sartz-Lunde in the second set, getting the break she needed at 3-1 and closing it out from there.
Piper Charney pulled Michigan level at 2-2 with a clinical 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 2-ranked Reese Brantmeier at the top of the lineup. She converted on the deuce point for a 5-3 lead, closing out the first set on her serve in the next game. Charney won the first five games of the second set and closed out the match the second time she had a chance to serve for it to put Michigan's second point on the board.
North Carolina answered with a three-set win at No. 5, taking a 3-2 lead.
Michigan had won first sets on the remaining two courts, but North Carolina won second sets at both spots to force third sets. Miller broke for a 5-4 lead in her second set and had a chance to serve it out but could not, with UNC winning four straight games to force the third. Rahnel was broken at 5-4 in the second set, with her opponent converting the break in the next game to stay on court.
Miller fell in a 4-2 hole before winning two straight games to get the third set back on serve at 4-4. Rahnel went up a break at 4-2, but UNC ripped off three straight games for a 5-4 lead and a chance to serve out the match. She converted her second break point, tying the deciding set at 5-5.
Miller held serve at 5-5 and had three break points in the next game, with No. 42 Tatum Evans fighting off all three to hold serve at 6-5. Following the changeover, Evans broke Miller to put North Carolina's fourth point on the board.
Michigan won 21 matches in 2026, winning the 2026 Big Ten Championship and Big Ten Tournament titles. Lily Jones wrapped up her illustrious career in the maize and blue, tied for fourth all-time with 117 singles wins.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 8 Piper Charney (U-M) d. No. 2 Reese Brantmeier (North Carolina), 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 18 Oby Kajuru (North Carolina) d. No. 24 Lily Jones (U-M), 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 -- No. 42 Tatum Evans (North Carolina) d. No. 105 Reese Miller (U-M), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5
No. 4 -- No. 120 Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. No. 116 Maddy Zampardo (North Carolina), 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 -- Anna Frey (North Carolina) d. Jessica Bernales (U-M), 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
No. 6 -- Laura Rahnel (U-M) vs. Thea Rabman (North Carolina), 6-4, 4-6, 5-6 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 9 Reese Brantmeier/Alanis Hamilton (North Carolina) d. No. 30 Jessica Bernales/Lily Jones (U-M), 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 66 Reese Miller/Laura Rahnel (U-M) d. Maddy Zampardo/Susanna Maltby (North Carolina), 6-3
No. 3 -- Tatum Evans/Oby Kajuru (North Carolina) d. Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M), 6-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 2-4-1-5-3
