University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: courtesy of ITA
Jones, Graham Survive At ITA All-Americans
October 5, 2018 | Women's Tennis
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - Top-seeded Makenna Jones and junior classmate Alexa Graham from the University of North Carolina earned three-set victories on Thursday in the opening round of the singles main draw at the 2018 Riviera ITA Women's All-American Championships.
Jones drew 2017-18 ITA Doubles All-American and former US Open Junior doubles champion Jada Hart, a redshirt UCLA junior, who had the decided home-court advantage playing on the lower Riviera Country Club courts located just five miles down Sunset Blvd. from the Bruins campus in Westwood.Â
The Greenville, South Carolina, resident Jones, a junior who led the Tar Heels to the 2018 ITA Division I National Women's Indoor Team Championship, came out strong posting a 6-0 first set, before Hart rallied to capture the second set 6-4, with Jones closing it out by the same 6-4 score to advance to the Round of 16 Friday at the event being held at the same location in Pacific Palisades for the 34th consecutive year.
An ITA All-American in singles, Jones will next face LSU's No. 38 Eden Richardson on Friday at 1:45 p.m. ET
Graham notched her fourth singles win of the week after earning a spot in the main draw after three victories in qualifying. The Garden City, New York, product faced a daunting task on Thursday with a bout against No. 10 Michaela Gordon, the No. 1 singles player from defending NCAA champion Stanford.
Ranked 66th in the country, Graham stumbled out of the gate to the tune of a 6-0 first set loss. However, she quickly gained her footing in the match and won consecutive sets by identical 6-3 scores to move into the round of 16 where she will face off against Duke freshman Maria Mateas, the top-ranked newcomer in the nation according to the Oracle/ITA rankings.
Sophomore Alle Sanford also went to three sets in her first-round main draw match, but was unable to overcome No. 44 Kenya Jones of Georgia Tech, who advanced with a 7-6 (2), 0-6, 6-3 win.Â
Sanford and Sara Daavettila lost as the No. 8 seed in the main draw doubles field on Thursday to USC's Kulikov and Valdes, 8-1.
Main Draw Singles
Friday, Oct. 5
[1] #2 Makenna Jones (UNC) vs. #38 Eden Richardson (LSU)Â
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) vs. Maria Mateas (Duke)
Thursday, Oct. 4
[1] #2 Makenna Jones (UNC) def. #15 Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #10 Michaela Gordon (Stanford) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3
#44 Kenya Jones (Georgia Tech) def. #19 Alle Sanford (UNC) 7-6 (2), 0-6, 6-3
Main Draw Singles - Backdrop
Friday, Oct. 5
#19 Alle Sanford (UNC) vs. #9 Stacy Fung (Washington)
Qualifying Singles
Wednesday, Oct. 3
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #33 Giulia Pairone (Michigan) 7-6 (5), 6-0
Tuesday, Oct. 2
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. Daniela Nasser (Oregon) 6-3, 6-1
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. [1] #21 Anna Turati (Texas) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
#65 Ida Jarlskog (Florida) def. [3] #27 Sara Daavettila (UNC) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Qualifying Singles - Backdraw
Wednesday, Oct. 3
[3] #27 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. Lexi Keberle (Wisconsin) 6-1, 6-1
Tuesday, Oct. 2
[3] #27 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #72 Silvia Ambrosio (Purdue) 6-1, 6-4
Pre-Qualifying Singles
Saturday, Sept. 29
Emma Wilson (Arizona) def. #82 Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) 6-4, 6-2
Katarina Stresnakova (Oklahoma State) def. Cameron Morra (UNC) 6-4, 7-5
Main Draw Doubles
Thursday, Oct. 4
Kulikov/Valdes (USC) def. [8] #10 Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) 8-1
Main Draw Doubles - Backdraw
Friday, Oct. 5
#10 Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) vs. #18 Riley/Staines (Tennessee)
Pre-Qualifying Doubles
Sunday, Sept. 30
Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine (Pepperdine) def. Ouellet-Pizer/Morra (UNC) 8-6
Ouellet-Pizer/Morra (UNC) def. Karla Portalatin/Sarah Nuno (Cal State Fullerton) 8-3
Saturday, Sept. 29
Ouellet-Pizer/Morra (UNC) def. Jaclyn Switkes/Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) 8-0
Jones drew 2017-18 ITA Doubles All-American and former US Open Junior doubles champion Jada Hart, a redshirt UCLA junior, who had the decided home-court advantage playing on the lower Riviera Country Club courts located just five miles down Sunset Blvd. from the Bruins campus in Westwood.Â
The Greenville, South Carolina, resident Jones, a junior who led the Tar Heels to the 2018 ITA Division I National Women's Indoor Team Championship, came out strong posting a 6-0 first set, before Hart rallied to capture the second set 6-4, with Jones closing it out by the same 6-4 score to advance to the Round of 16 Friday at the event being held at the same location in Pacific Palisades for the 34th consecutive year.
An ITA All-American in singles, Jones will next face LSU's No. 38 Eden Richardson on Friday at 1:45 p.m. ET
Graham notched her fourth singles win of the week after earning a spot in the main draw after three victories in qualifying. The Garden City, New York, product faced a daunting task on Thursday with a bout against No. 10 Michaela Gordon, the No. 1 singles player from defending NCAA champion Stanford.
Ranked 66th in the country, Graham stumbled out of the gate to the tune of a 6-0 first set loss. However, she quickly gained her footing in the match and won consecutive sets by identical 6-3 scores to move into the round of 16 where she will face off against Duke freshman Maria Mateas, the top-ranked newcomer in the nation according to the Oracle/ITA rankings.
Sophomore Alle Sanford also went to three sets in her first-round main draw match, but was unable to overcome No. 44 Kenya Jones of Georgia Tech, who advanced with a 7-6 (2), 0-6, 6-3 win.Â
Sanford and Sara Daavettila lost as the No. 8 seed in the main draw doubles field on Thursday to USC's Kulikov and Valdes, 8-1.
Main Draw Singles
Friday, Oct. 5
[1] #2 Makenna Jones (UNC) vs. #38 Eden Richardson (LSU)Â
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) vs. Maria Mateas (Duke)
Thursday, Oct. 4
[1] #2 Makenna Jones (UNC) def. #15 Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #10 Michaela Gordon (Stanford) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3
#44 Kenya Jones (Georgia Tech) def. #19 Alle Sanford (UNC) 7-6 (2), 0-6, 6-3
Main Draw Singles - Backdrop
Friday, Oct. 5
#19 Alle Sanford (UNC) vs. #9 Stacy Fung (Washington)
Qualifying Singles
Wednesday, Oct. 3
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #33 Giulia Pairone (Michigan) 7-6 (5), 6-0
Tuesday, Oct. 2
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. Daniela Nasser (Oregon) 6-3, 6-1
#60 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. [1] #21 Anna Turati (Texas) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
#65 Ida Jarlskog (Florida) def. [3] #27 Sara Daavettila (UNC) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Qualifying Singles - Backdraw
Wednesday, Oct. 3
[3] #27 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. Lexi Keberle (Wisconsin) 6-1, 6-1
Tuesday, Oct. 2
[3] #27 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #72 Silvia Ambrosio (Purdue) 6-1, 6-4
Pre-Qualifying Singles
Saturday, Sept. 29
Emma Wilson (Arizona) def. #82 Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) 6-4, 6-2
Katarina Stresnakova (Oklahoma State) def. Cameron Morra (UNC) 6-4, 7-5
Main Draw Doubles
Thursday, Oct. 4
Kulikov/Valdes (USC) def. [8] #10 Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) 8-1
Main Draw Doubles - Backdraw
Friday, Oct. 5
#10 Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) vs. #18 Riley/Staines (Tennessee)
Pre-Qualifying Doubles
Sunday, Sept. 30
Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine (Pepperdine) def. Ouellet-Pizer/Morra (UNC) 8-6
Ouellet-Pizer/Morra (UNC) def. Karla Portalatin/Sarah Nuno (Cal State Fullerton) 8-3
Saturday, Sept. 29
Ouellet-Pizer/Morra (UNC) def. Jaclyn Switkes/Mia Rabinowitz (Illinois) 8-0
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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