UNC women’s tennis coach Brian Kalbas knows the Heels play in one of the top conferences in college tennis.

Carolina punched its ticket to the indoor championships with a strong road victory over Notre Dame.  Kalbas has history with the Fighting Irish, where he attended college and starred on the tennis team.  He was also an assistant coach on the men’s team at Notre Dame for more than three years.

This year’s Tar Heel team has been boosted by superb play by seniors Sanaz Marand, Sophie Grabinski, and Katrina Tsang.  But Kalbas says a lot of the team’s success starts at the bottom of the singles lineup with sophomore Shinann Featherston.

The Tar Heels are back in action this weekend at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wisconsin.  They’ll take on fourth-ranked Georgia in the first round on Friday.