The UC Santa Barbara doubles team of Stefani Stojic and Palina Dubavets saw its season come to an end in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships on Friday afternoon, but the tandem didn’t bow out easily, falling to the No. 1 seeded team of Hayley Carter and Whitney Kay from North Carolina, 6-4, 4-6, 10-7.
On Thursday Stojic, a junior, and Dubavets, a sophomore, became the first Gauchos to win a doubles match at the NCAA Championships in more than 20 years and on Friday against their Tar Heel counterparts, they nearly posted a major upset.
“I’m so proud of these Gauchos,” said head coach Simon Thibodeau. “They are playing as good as the best team in the nation. It’s a heartbreaker and they are disappointed as they were leading most of the match, but credit to the UNC team, they played well in the end and made us earn every point.”