Wednesday, May 19
Orlando, Fla.
7:30 PM
North Carolina
vs
Duke
Photo by: Manuela Davies/USTA
Tobacco Road Rivals Meet In NCAA Quarters
May 18, 2021 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO - The North Carolina and Duke women's tennis programs will face off for the 90th time on Wednesday night with the winner advancing to the NCAA Final Four. Tennis Channel will carry the NCAA Team Championship Quarterfinal match at 7:30 p.m. ET.Â
The unbeaten and top seeded Tar Heels bring an ACC-record 47-match winning streak to the USTA National Campus against its biggest rival, who have already knocked off a pair of national seeds to reach the quarters. Â
HOW WE GOT HERE
North Carolina (29-0) dispatched 16th seed Cal by a 4-0 margin on Sunday to reach the quarterfinal round for the 10th time. The Tar Heels also picked up back-to-back 4-0 wins over SC State and Old Dominion on May 7 and 8 in the opening two rounds of the championship from its home grounds in Chapel Hill.
Duke pulled an upset according to the national seeding with a 4-3 victory over ninth seed UCF. The Blue Devils also went on the road in the regional rounds and took down No. 43 Alabama in the first round and defeated No. 8 seed Baylor, 4-3, in Waco, Texas.
SERIES HISTORY
Carolina leads 45-44 in the all-time series with its long-standing rival from Durham. The Tar Heels have won the last five head-to-head meetings, including a 6-1 victory on March 19 in Chapel Hill.
Wednesday evening will be the sixth occurrence that UNC and Duke will play in the NCAA Team Championship. The Tar Heels, who hold a 4-1 edge in the previous five matches, took down the Blue Devils back in 2017 in the most recent NCAA bout from Athens, Georgia. The second-round, 4-0, win by No. 2 seed Carolina saw then freshman Sara Daavettila defeat Meible Chi to assistant in the win.
The only previous quarterfinal match saw Carolina win 4-3 in 2010 that sent the program to its first ever appearance in the Final Four.
TEAM CAPSULES
North Carolina (GoHeels.com)
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
National Seed: No. 1
Team Ranking: No. 1
Singles/Doubles Rankings: Sara Daavettila (2), Cameron Morra (27), Makenna Jones (32), Fiona Crawley (36), Alexa Graham (41), Elizabeth Scotty (97), Anika Yarlagadda (110), Reilly Tran (117); Daavettila/Morra (2), Jones/Scotty (4), Alle Sanford/Tran (34)
Record: 29-0
Bid: Automatic (ACC champion)
UNC makes its 22nd successive appearance in the NCAA Team Championship and 17th in a row under the leadership of head coach Brian Kalbas. The five-time reigning ACC champions own a 51-21 mark in NCAA team competition. A victory over the Blue Devils would send the program to its fourth appearance in the national semifinals, joining the 2010, 2014 and 2019 Tar Heels teams.
Sara Daavettila (No. 1 seed), Fiona Crawley, Alexa Graham, Makenna Jones and Cameron Morra will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship, while Daavettila and Morra (No. 2 seed) and Jones and Elizabeth Scotty (No. 4 seed) will do battle in the NCAA Doubles Championship upon conclusion of the team championship.
By virtue of earning a national seed, Daavettila, Jones, Morra and Scotty have already earned All-America status for the 2020-21 season.
Daavettila and Kalbas were named the ACC Player and Coach of the Year, respectively. Led by Daavettila on the first team, Carolina placed a program-record five student-athletes on the All-ACC teams. Graham and Morra were placed on the second team, while Crawley and Jones were selected for the third team.
Duke Blue Devils (goduke.com)
Location: Durham, North Carolina
National Seed: N/A
National Ranking: No. 18
Singles Rankings: Georgia Drummy (19), Chloe Beck (39), Meible Chi (40), Kelly Chen (49); Beck/Karolina Berankova (9), Margaryta Bilokin/Chi (10), Chen/Drummy (41)
Record: 18-6
Bid: At-large
Duke knocked off its second-straight top-ten opponent to advance into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Team Championship. The Blue Devils defeated No. 9 UCF, 4-3, on the Golden Knights home court in a match that took over three and a half hours to complete on Sunday night.
Kelly Chen, Georgia Drummy and Chloe Beck all earned at-large bids into the NCAA Singles Championship, while Beck and Karolina Berankova along with Margaryta Bilokin and Meible Chi will compete as at-large selections at the NCAA Doubles Championship.
The unbeaten and top seeded Tar Heels bring an ACC-record 47-match winning streak to the USTA National Campus against its biggest rival, who have already knocked off a pair of national seeds to reach the quarters. Â
HOW WE GOT HERE
North Carolina (29-0) dispatched 16th seed Cal by a 4-0 margin on Sunday to reach the quarterfinal round for the 10th time. The Tar Heels also picked up back-to-back 4-0 wins over SC State and Old Dominion on May 7 and 8 in the opening two rounds of the championship from its home grounds in Chapel Hill.
Duke pulled an upset according to the national seeding with a 4-3 victory over ninth seed UCF. The Blue Devils also went on the road in the regional rounds and took down No. 43 Alabama in the first round and defeated No. 8 seed Baylor, 4-3, in Waco, Texas.
SERIES HISTORY
Carolina leads 45-44 in the all-time series with its long-standing rival from Durham. The Tar Heels have won the last five head-to-head meetings, including a 6-1 victory on March 19 in Chapel Hill.
Wednesday evening will be the sixth occurrence that UNC and Duke will play in the NCAA Team Championship. The Tar Heels, who hold a 4-1 edge in the previous five matches, took down the Blue Devils back in 2017 in the most recent NCAA bout from Athens, Georgia. The second-round, 4-0, win by No. 2 seed Carolina saw then freshman Sara Daavettila defeat Meible Chi to assistant in the win.
The only previous quarterfinal match saw Carolina win 4-3 in 2010 that sent the program to its first ever appearance in the Final Four.
TEAM CAPSULES
North Carolina (GoHeels.com)
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
National Seed: No. 1
Team Ranking: No. 1
Singles/Doubles Rankings: Sara Daavettila (2), Cameron Morra (27), Makenna Jones (32), Fiona Crawley (36), Alexa Graham (41), Elizabeth Scotty (97), Anika Yarlagadda (110), Reilly Tran (117); Daavettila/Morra (2), Jones/Scotty (4), Alle Sanford/Tran (34)
Record: 29-0
Bid: Automatic (ACC champion)
UNC makes its 22nd successive appearance in the NCAA Team Championship and 17th in a row under the leadership of head coach Brian Kalbas. The five-time reigning ACC champions own a 51-21 mark in NCAA team competition. A victory over the Blue Devils would send the program to its fourth appearance in the national semifinals, joining the 2010, 2014 and 2019 Tar Heels teams.
Sara Daavettila (No. 1 seed), Fiona Crawley, Alexa Graham, Makenna Jones and Cameron Morra will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship, while Daavettila and Morra (No. 2 seed) and Jones and Elizabeth Scotty (No. 4 seed) will do battle in the NCAA Doubles Championship upon conclusion of the team championship.
By virtue of earning a national seed, Daavettila, Jones, Morra and Scotty have already earned All-America status for the 2020-21 season.
Daavettila and Kalbas were named the ACC Player and Coach of the Year, respectively. Led by Daavettila on the first team, Carolina placed a program-record five student-athletes on the All-ACC teams. Graham and Morra were placed on the second team, while Crawley and Jones were selected for the third team.
Duke Blue Devils (goduke.com)
Location: Durham, North Carolina
National Seed: N/A
National Ranking: No. 18
Singles Rankings: Georgia Drummy (19), Chloe Beck (39), Meible Chi (40), Kelly Chen (49); Beck/Karolina Berankova (9), Margaryta Bilokin/Chi (10), Chen/Drummy (41)
Record: 18-6
Bid: At-large
Duke knocked off its second-straight top-ten opponent to advance into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Team Championship. The Blue Devils defeated No. 9 UCF, 4-3, on the Golden Knights home court in a match that took over three and a half hours to complete on Sunday night.
Kelly Chen, Georgia Drummy and Chloe Beck all earned at-large bids into the NCAA Singles Championship, while Beck and Karolina Berankova along with Margaryta Bilokin and Meible Chi will compete as at-large selections at the NCAA Doubles Championship.
Players Mentioned
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