Tar Heels Sign Daavettila, Sanford For 2016
November 16, 2015 | Women's Tennis
“We are thrilled to have Sara and Alle join our Tar Heel family,” Kalbas said. “They're extremely talented players that come from great families with proven athletic backgrounds. They will be a perfect fit for not only our program, but for our outstanding University here in Chapel Hill.
“I'm most excited about them choosing Carolina because they want to get better. Being so talented and having already enjoyed successful junior careers before setting foot on campus, our staff understands they have aspirations and the desire to become professionals and we're proud they've selected UNC to make those dreams a reality.”
Daavettila, currently ranked as the No. 3 overall player in the class (No. 1 in the RPI), and a Blue Chip prospect according to TennisRecruiting.net, has been the top rated player in the Midwest going all the way back to 2008. She has won 10 national titles and over 20 Midwest titles in her playing career.
She is a two-time Michigan High School champion, and in 2015, Daavettila became the first athlete in high school tennis history to not lose a game all season, including the state tournament.
This year alone she won the USTA Midwest Outdoor Closed Championship, and won three matches at the National Clay Court Championships in Memphis. Daavettila competed in the Fed Cup in July where her team placed third, and she went undefeated in the No. 1 singles division.
In August, Daavettila placed fourth in the USTA National Championships, an event made up of 400 players held in San Diego. Later in the summer, she earned a wild card into the US Open National Playoffs tournament in Connecticut.
Sanford, the No. 11 ranked player in the class and also a Blue Chip prospect according to TennisRecruiting.net, has won eight singles titles and eight doubles titles in her playing career. Sanford teamed up with her older sister, Anna, for an Ohio State doubles championship in 2013, and was named first team all-state as a freshman that same season.
Also ranked No. 65 in the ITF World Rankings, Sanford has won recent singles titles at the Copa Milo ITF event in February 2015 and the Wichita Falls ITF tournament in Sept. 2014, and a doubles title in Nov. 2014 at the Lexington ITF event.
Sanford competed with the USTA National Team in 2015, and participated in the US Open Juniors event in 2014 and 2015, and the French Open Juniors in 2015. She has been ranked as high as No. 5 by TennisRecruiting.net, and No. 4 in the RPI.