In professional wrestling there are 60-minute, falls-count-anywhere "ironman" bouts in which will and determination are tested.
Sunday was that sort of a match for the No. 7 UF women's tennis team, with North Carolina winning the match.
The Gators (4-1) were defeated by the No. 17 Tar Heels 4-3 in a 3 1/2-hour slugfest in Chapel Hill, N.C. It was UF's first road dual match of the season and its first loss.
Five sets went to tiebreakers, and freshman Jo Mather beat Jelena Durisic with a 10-1 tiebreaking third set after the Tar Heels clinched victory.
UF was swept in the doubles matches, losing the point. The No. 18 team of Megan Alexander and Marrit Boonstra lost a hard-fought match to No. 15 Sophie Grabinski and Sanaz Marand 9-8 (16-14).
Juniors Boonstra and Anastasia Revzina won their singles matches in long second sets. Boonstra, the nation's No. 34 singles player, bested No. 47 Marand 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), while No. 99 Anastasia Revzina got past Austin Smith 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).
Alexander, No. 78, lost her first match of the season, falling to Grabinski 6-1, 7-6 (8-6).
The Gators next head to Madison, Wis., on Thursday for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Championships, where they could face North Carolina again.
