2023 NCAA Championships: 'Special' UNC team wins its first-ever D1 women's team title

A dream two decades in the making for head coach Brian Kalbas and the University of North Carolina women's tennis team was finally realized on Saturday night at the USTA National Campus in Orlando: With a 4-1 win over in-state rival North Carolina State University, the Tar Heels won their first-ever team national championship.

Kalbas, in his 20th season, had previously led the team to the national final in 2014, and five other semifinals, but never to the golden trophy despite winning seven Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoor Championships in his tenure. After ascending to the No. 1 national ranking on Feb. 15, the Tar Heels never budged,  

"When I first came to Carolina, my dream was to be a part of the national championship club," Kalbas said after the match. "We won seven indoor titles and we've never won this one. It just was very elusive. For it to be this year, with this team, means the world for me personally, because I know we've had great teams in the past and every team, every year, kind of led to this year.

"I want to thank all the other teams that we've had because they deserve it as well. We had so many alumni here, so many fans, so many friends and family members. It's just really amazing to see where our program started and where it is right now. I'm just really happy for our team to do this in the way we did it.

"It just seems there's a lot of history for us. We call it the Jordan year, you know, 2023. Everything, the stars seemed to be aligning and being back in Orlando with all divisions here, and just so many fans and support, it was really special. I can't pinpoint it. There's been other years where I felt that we had a chance to really break through. But this year, this team really just wanted it and was willing to just go for it and not just think [it]."

For the first time since the tournament began in 1982, two Atlantic Coast Conference teams were playing for the national title, and the two powerhouse programs didn't disappoint in their rubber match—a third overall meeting between the two teams in 44 days. The top-ranked Tar Heels were 7-0 winners against the Wolfpack in the regular season on April 6, but got their revenge for postseason player after losing 4-1 in last month's ACC Championship. 

After North Carolina won the doubles point thanks to a 6-4 victory for Reese Brantmeier and Reilly Tran at No. 3 to decide things, the key to the match came in singles—and only after NC State's top player Diana Shnaider, playing in her last collegiate dual match before she heads to Paris to play in Roland Garros in two weeks, beat Brantmeier at No. 1 singles 6-3, 6-4 to level the match at 1-1.