Friday, May 17
Orlando, Fla.
12:00 PM
North Carolina
4
vs
1
UCLA
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Comeback Win Sends Carolina To Final Four
May 17, 2019 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO - North Carolina lost the doubles point for the first time all season, but played dominating tennis in singles to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship Final Four with a 4-1 victory over UCLA on Friday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.
No. 2 seed North Carolina (33-1) makes its third appearance in the Final Four, joining the 2010 and 2014 squads. The win is also the first in four tries for the Tar Heels over the Bruins in postseason play.
Carolina will play third seed Stanford on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. No strangers to each other either, the two have met in NCAA's four times previously, but more recently Saturday will mark the fourth meeting in the last six years. The Tar Heels' lone win came in the 2014 semifinals when Jamie Loeb clinched a 4-3 victory over the Cardinal.
UNC joins the men's tennis program in the national semifinals after their thrilling win over top-seeded Ohio State on Thursday. This marks the first time a program has place both a men's and women's team in the Final Four since Cal in 2016.
Carolina had its 34-match doubles winning streak that started back in 2018 come to a stop at the hands of the Bruins, who featured three formidable tandems.
No. 11 Elysia Bolton and Jada Hart played well in posting an early 6-1 win on court two over Carolina's No. 12 duo of Makenna Jones and Cameron Morra.
UNC's No. 2 ranked team of Jessie Aney and Alexa Graham struck back with a brilliant 6-3 win over No. 5 Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield on court one. All eyes turned to court three to decide the opening point.
Carolina's Sara Daavettila and Alle Sanford led 5-4 over No. 82 Abi Altick and Taylor Johnson, however, the match moved to a tiebreaker that ultimately went to UCLA by an 8-6 margin. Carolina's third team was a perfect 6-0 in the postseason entering Friday's quarterfinal.
With its 23-match winning streak in jeopardy, UNC head coach Brian Kalbas emphasized to his team that "good teams don't just win singles, they dominate."
His team responded accordingly.
Sanford continued her good form with a 6-1, 6-0, victory over Andrews on court six. The Westerville, Ohio, product improved to 6-1 in singles since March 31.
No. 46 Morra, the ACC's Freshman of the Year, quickly gave UNC its first lead of the match by virtue of a 6-2, 6-3, victory over Miller on court four. Morra has won her last nine singles decisions going back to March 24.
The momentum continued to play into the hands of the No. 1 ranked Tar Heels.
No. 7 Graham overcame a massive deficit in the second set, but rallied for a straight set, 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 32 Bolton, the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year award winner, to make it 3-1 Heels. Graham, who suffered a rare defeat last time out against Oklahoma State, improved to 24-2 in duals.
No. 20 Daavettila sowed up the win on court three by holding off Broomfield, 6-2, 6-3, who was unable to return a forehand blast that set off a massive celebration. Daavettila lifted two hands in the air to punctuate her win. Seconds later, Graham leaped into her arms with their teammates running closely behind in pursuit.
#1 North Carolina 4, #7 UCLA 1
5/17/2019 at Orlando, Florida
USTA National Campus
NCAA Championship Quarterfinals
Singles
#5 Makenna Jones (UNC) vs. #45 Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
#7 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #32 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-2, 6-4
#20 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3
#46 Cameron Morra (UNC) def. Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3
Jessie Aney (UNC) vs. #120 Abi Altick (UCLA) 4-6, 5-6, unfinished
Alle Sanford (UNC) def. Gabby Andrews (UCLA) 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 2, 3
Doubles
#2 Aney/Graham (UNC) def. #5 Andrews/Broomfield (UCLA) 6-3
#11 Bolton/Hart (UCLA) def. #12 Jones/Morra (UNC) 6-1
#82 Altick/Taylor Johnson (UCLA) def. Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) 7-6 (6)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
North Carolina 33-1
UCLA 21-8
T-3:00
No. 2 seed North Carolina (33-1) makes its third appearance in the Final Four, joining the 2010 and 2014 squads. The win is also the first in four tries for the Tar Heels over the Bruins in postseason play.
Carolina will play third seed Stanford on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. No strangers to each other either, the two have met in NCAA's four times previously, but more recently Saturday will mark the fourth meeting in the last six years. The Tar Heels' lone win came in the 2014 semifinals when Jamie Loeb clinched a 4-3 victory over the Cardinal.
UNC joins the men's tennis program in the national semifinals after their thrilling win over top-seeded Ohio State on Thursday. This marks the first time a program has place both a men's and women's team in the Final Four since Cal in 2016.
Carolina had its 34-match doubles winning streak that started back in 2018 come to a stop at the hands of the Bruins, who featured three formidable tandems.
No. 11 Elysia Bolton and Jada Hart played well in posting an early 6-1 win on court two over Carolina's No. 12 duo of Makenna Jones and Cameron Morra.
UNC's No. 2 ranked team of Jessie Aney and Alexa Graham struck back with a brilliant 6-3 win over No. 5 Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield on court one. All eyes turned to court three to decide the opening point.
Carolina's Sara Daavettila and Alle Sanford led 5-4 over No. 82 Abi Altick and Taylor Johnson, however, the match moved to a tiebreaker that ultimately went to UCLA by an 8-6 margin. Carolina's third team was a perfect 6-0 in the postseason entering Friday's quarterfinal.
With its 23-match winning streak in jeopardy, UNC head coach Brian Kalbas emphasized to his team that "good teams don't just win singles, they dominate."
His team responded accordingly.
Sanford continued her good form with a 6-1, 6-0, victory over Andrews on court six. The Westerville, Ohio, product improved to 6-1 in singles since March 31.
No. 46 Morra, the ACC's Freshman of the Year, quickly gave UNC its first lead of the match by virtue of a 6-2, 6-3, victory over Miller on court four. Morra has won her last nine singles decisions going back to March 24.
The momentum continued to play into the hands of the No. 1 ranked Tar Heels.
No. 7 Graham overcame a massive deficit in the second set, but rallied for a straight set, 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 32 Bolton, the Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year award winner, to make it 3-1 Heels. Graham, who suffered a rare defeat last time out against Oklahoma State, improved to 24-2 in duals.
No. 20 Daavettila sowed up the win on court three by holding off Broomfield, 6-2, 6-3, who was unable to return a forehand blast that set off a massive celebration. Daavettila lifted two hands in the air to punctuate her win. Seconds later, Graham leaped into her arms with their teammates running closely behind in pursuit.
#1 North Carolina 4, #7 UCLA 1
5/17/2019 at Orlando, Florida
USTA National Campus
NCAA Championship Quarterfinals
Singles
#5 Makenna Jones (UNC) vs. #45 Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
#7 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #32 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-2, 6-4
#20 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3
#46 Cameron Morra (UNC) def. Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3
Jessie Aney (UNC) vs. #120 Abi Altick (UCLA) 4-6, 5-6, unfinished
Alle Sanford (UNC) def. Gabby Andrews (UCLA) 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 2, 3
Doubles
#2 Aney/Graham (UNC) def. #5 Andrews/Broomfield (UCLA) 6-3
#11 Bolton/Hart (UCLA) def. #12 Jones/Morra (UNC) 6-1
#82 Altick/Taylor Johnson (UCLA) def. Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) 7-6 (6)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
North Carolina 33-1
UCLA 21-8
T-3:00
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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