Friday, May 21
Orlando, Fla.
5:30 PM
North Carolina
3
vs
4
Pepperdine
Photo by: Manuela Davies/USTA
Carolina Falls 4-3 In National Semifinal
May 21, 2021 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO - No. 1 North Carolina suffered its first loss of the 2021 season in the semifinals of the NCAA Women's Tennis Team Championship on Friday night from the USTA National Campus. Fifth seed Pepperdine earned a 4-3 victory over the top seeded Tar Heels.
North Carolina (30-1) reached the NCAA Final Four for the fourth time after taking down Duke on Wednesday, but will have to wait another year to win that elusive NCAA national title that has escaped this incredibly successful program. The setback also snapped its ACC record 48-match winning streak.
Carolina trailed for the first time in any match since Feb. 7 against Texas after dropping the doubles point, snapping a streak of 23 successive matches winning the opening point.
No. 2 Sara Daavettila and Cameron Morra rallied for a 6-4 victory on court one, but the Waves took the deciding match on court two to take the early 1-0 lead.
Carolina had to win four of the six singles matches to advance to Saturday's national title match.
The Tar Heels took the opening set on three courts and went on to win all three in straight-set to grab a 3-2 lead. The victories came from No. 41 Alexa Graham on court two, No. 36 Fiona Crawley on court six and No. 2 Sara Daavettila on court one.
The early deficit ended up being too much to overcome as Pepperdine (25-3) closed it out to reach its first NCAA team final. The Waves will face Texas tomorrow evening.
Carolina will turn its sights to the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships that begins Sunday. The Tar Heels have a program record five players in the singles field, including No. 1 seed Daavettila. Additionally, UNC has a pair of national seeds in the doubles field - No. 2 Daavettila and Morra and No. 4 Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty.
Singles
1. #2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #77 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) 6-4, 6-4
2. #41 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #21 Jessica Failla (PEPP) 6-2, 6-3
3. #89 Taisiya Pachkaleva (PEPP) def. #27 Cameron Morra (UNC) 7-6 (3), 6-3
4. #118 Shiori Fakuda (PEPP) def. #97 Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) 6-2, 6-2
5. Lisa Zaar (PEPP) def. #32 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-4, 6-4
6. #36 Fiona Crawley (UNC) def. Nikki Redelijk (PEPP) 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 6, 1, 5, 3
Doubles
1. #2 Sara Daavettila/Cameron Morra (UNC) def. Ashley Lahey/Lisa Zaar (PEPP) 6-4
2. Shiori Fakuda/Taisiya Pachkaleva (PEPP) def. #4 Makenna Jones/Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) 7-5
3. Anastasia Iamachkine/Jessica Failla (PEPP) def. #34 Alle Sanford/Reilly Tran (UNC) 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
North Carolina (30-1) reached the NCAA Final Four for the fourth time after taking down Duke on Wednesday, but will have to wait another year to win that elusive NCAA national title that has escaped this incredibly successful program. The setback also snapped its ACC record 48-match winning streak.
Carolina trailed for the first time in any match since Feb. 7 against Texas after dropping the doubles point, snapping a streak of 23 successive matches winning the opening point.
No. 2 Sara Daavettila and Cameron Morra rallied for a 6-4 victory on court one, but the Waves took the deciding match on court two to take the early 1-0 lead.
Carolina had to win four of the six singles matches to advance to Saturday's national title match.
The Tar Heels took the opening set on three courts and went on to win all three in straight-set to grab a 3-2 lead. The victories came from No. 41 Alexa Graham on court two, No. 36 Fiona Crawley on court six and No. 2 Sara Daavettila on court one.
The early deficit ended up being too much to overcome as Pepperdine (25-3) closed it out to reach its first NCAA team final. The Waves will face Texas tomorrow evening.
Carolina will turn its sights to the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships that begins Sunday. The Tar Heels have a program record five players in the singles field, including No. 1 seed Daavettila. Additionally, UNC has a pair of national seeds in the doubles field - No. 2 Daavettila and Morra and No. 4 Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty.
Singles
1. #2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #77 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) 6-4, 6-4
2. #41 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #21 Jessica Failla (PEPP) 6-2, 6-3
3. #89 Taisiya Pachkaleva (PEPP) def. #27 Cameron Morra (UNC) 7-6 (3), 6-3
4. #118 Shiori Fakuda (PEPP) def. #97 Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) 6-2, 6-2
5. Lisa Zaar (PEPP) def. #32 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-4, 6-4
6. #36 Fiona Crawley (UNC) def. Nikki Redelijk (PEPP) 6-3, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 6, 1, 5, 3
Doubles
1. #2 Sara Daavettila/Cameron Morra (UNC) def. Ashley Lahey/Lisa Zaar (PEPP) 6-4
2. Shiori Fakuda/Taisiya Pachkaleva (PEPP) def. #4 Makenna Jones/Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) 7-5
3. Anastasia Iamachkine/Jessica Failla (PEPP) def. #34 Alle Sanford/Reilly Tran (UNC) 6-4
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
UNC Field Hockey: Offense Sends Heels Past Cal, 5-1
Saturday, September 20
Tar Heels in the Community pres. by NC Electric Co-ops - WLAX Hospital Visit - Sept. 19, 2025
Friday, September 19
Carolina Insider - Football at UCF Preview (Full Segment) - September 19, 2025
Friday, September 19
Carolina Insider - Interview with Demon June Interview (Full Segment) - September 19, 2025
Friday, September 19