App State Tennis (0-1) opened its spring dual match season Saturday with a 6-1 defeat at No. 2 North Carolina (2-0), which extended its home winning streak to 56 straight matches.

After dropping the doubles point, the Mountaineers gave a strong effort in their six singles bouts, including senior Virginia Poggi’s 7-6, 6-3 victory over UNC’s Lindsay Zink at No. 5.

“I was proud of the effort today, and I think it’s always important to gauge ourselves against the best,” said head coach Ashleigh Antal. “UNC is a storied program and consistently at the top of our sport, so today was a great way to kick off our season. We’re looking forward to competing the rest of the weekend and continuing to improve throughout the season.”

Singles courts 1-4 featured four nationally ranked Tar Heels earning wins over Mountaineers, while at court six, Olwyn Ryan-Bovey dropped a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 match to UNC’s Sara McClure.

App State will host its home opener Sunday against Lees-McRae at 3 p.m. at the Deer Valley Racquet Club in Boone.