Sunday, February 11
Madison, Wisc.
1:00 PM
North Carolina
4
vs
1
Duke
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Jones Sends Carolina To ITA Indoors Title Match
February 11, 2018 | Women's Tennis
MADISON, Wisconsin - Sophomore Makenna Jones wound up the hero on Sunday by winning the clinching match to send third seed North Carolina to a 4-1 victory over seventh seed Duke in the semifinals of the 2018 ITA National Indoor Team Championship.
No. 5 North Carolina (9-0) will face No. 6 and fourth seed Pepperdine (6-0) in Monday's title match at 12 p.m. ET. The Tar Heels have reached the event final four-straight years and five out of six seasons overall, winning championships in both 2013 and 2015.
The Waves, who upset top seed Vanderbilt, 4-3, in the other semifinal match on Sunday at the Nielson Tennis Center, has reached its first ITA Indoors final in program history.
Duke( 6-1), who upset second-seeded Georgia in yesterday's quarterfinals, got off to a fast start by winning four of six first sets in singles. On court five, No. 106 Meible Chi wound up with the lone Blue Devils' point by defeating No. 21 Jessie Aney in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Carolina answered back in a big way with straight set victories on court two by No. 52 Sara Daavettila, 6-2, 6-2, over No. 65 Kaitlyn McCarthy, and on court four by No. 78 Alexa Graham, who earned a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over No. 119 Ellyse Hamlin.
The remaining three matches all went to a decisive third-set, and Carolina trailed in each of them at one point. No. 6 Alle Sanford took her match all the way into a final-set tiebreaker on court one against No. 9 Samantha Harris.
Meanwhile, No. 10 Jones trailed 3-0 in her third set against No. 30 Kelly Chen. The Greenville, South Carolina native, also overcame six double faults in the third set on her way to a come-from-behind, 6-4, victory on court three to seal the Tar Heel win.
Facing two of the top-five ranked doubles teams in the nation, Carolina knew it would face a stiff test from the Blue Devils. But UNC was more than up to the task in taking down both top-ranked tandems to gain an early 1-0 edge.
No. 30 Aney Graham won 6-4 over No. 5 Harris and Chen on court one, and No. 20 Daavettila and Sanford turned the same trick with an identical 6-4 win on court two over No. 2 McCarthy and Hamlin.
UNC has now won the last five head-to-head matches with the Blue Devils.
Singles Results
#6 Alle Sanford (UNC) vs. #9 Samantha Harris (Duke) 3-6, 6-4, 6-6 (1), unfinished
#52 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #65 Kaitlyn McCarthy (Duke) 6-2, 6-2
#10 Makenna Jones (UNC) def. #30 Kelly Chen (Duke) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
#78 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #119 Ellyse Hamlin (Duke) 7-6 (3), 6-1
#106 Meible Chi (Duke) def. #21 Jessie Aney (UNC) 6-2, 6-4
Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) vs. Hannah Zhao (Duke) 3-6, 7-6 (2), 3-4, unfinished
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 4, 3
Doubles Results
#30 Aney/Graham (UNC) def. #5 Harris/Chen (Duke) 6-4
#20 Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) def. #2 McCarthy/Hamlin (Duke) 6-4
Akkerman/Jones (UNC) vs. Zhao/Chi (Duke) 5-4, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2
No. 5 North Carolina (9-0) will face No. 6 and fourth seed Pepperdine (6-0) in Monday's title match at 12 p.m. ET. The Tar Heels have reached the event final four-straight years and five out of six seasons overall, winning championships in both 2013 and 2015.
The Waves, who upset top seed Vanderbilt, 4-3, in the other semifinal match on Sunday at the Nielson Tennis Center, has reached its first ITA Indoors final in program history.
Duke( 6-1), who upset second-seeded Georgia in yesterday's quarterfinals, got off to a fast start by winning four of six first sets in singles. On court five, No. 106 Meible Chi wound up with the lone Blue Devils' point by defeating No. 21 Jessie Aney in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.
Carolina answered back in a big way with straight set victories on court two by No. 52 Sara Daavettila, 6-2, 6-2, over No. 65 Kaitlyn McCarthy, and on court four by No. 78 Alexa Graham, who earned a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over No. 119 Ellyse Hamlin.
The remaining three matches all went to a decisive third-set, and Carolina trailed in each of them at one point. No. 6 Alle Sanford took her match all the way into a final-set tiebreaker on court one against No. 9 Samantha Harris.
Meanwhile, No. 10 Jones trailed 3-0 in her third set against No. 30 Kelly Chen. The Greenville, South Carolina native, also overcame six double faults in the third set on her way to a come-from-behind, 6-4, victory on court three to seal the Tar Heel win.
Facing two of the top-five ranked doubles teams in the nation, Carolina knew it would face a stiff test from the Blue Devils. But UNC was more than up to the task in taking down both top-ranked tandems to gain an early 1-0 edge.
No. 30 Aney Graham won 6-4 over No. 5 Harris and Chen on court one, and No. 20 Daavettila and Sanford turned the same trick with an identical 6-4 win on court two over No. 2 McCarthy and Hamlin.
UNC has now won the last five head-to-head matches with the Blue Devils.
Singles Results
#6 Alle Sanford (UNC) vs. #9 Samantha Harris (Duke) 3-6, 6-4, 6-6 (1), unfinished
#52 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #65 Kaitlyn McCarthy (Duke) 6-2, 6-2
#10 Makenna Jones (UNC) def. #30 Kelly Chen (Duke) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
#78 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #119 Ellyse Hamlin (Duke) 7-6 (3), 6-1
#106 Meible Chi (Duke) def. #21 Jessie Aney (UNC) 6-2, 6-4
Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) vs. Hannah Zhao (Duke) 3-6, 7-6 (2), 3-4, unfinished
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 4, 3
Doubles Results
#30 Aney/Graham (UNC) def. #5 Harris/Chen (Duke) 6-4
#20 Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) def. #2 McCarthy/Hamlin (Duke) 6-4
Akkerman/Jones (UNC) vs. Zhao/Chi (Duke) 5-4, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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