Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Tar Heel Tandem Tops No. 1 Seed, Reaches NCAA Semis
May 26, 2018 | Women's Tennis
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - North Carolina's Sara Daavettila and Alle Sanford continued their improbable run at the NCAA Doubles Championship on Saturday with a win over the top seed in the field to reach the semifinals at Wake Forest University.Â
The Carolina duo, ranked No. 33 nationally, upended the No. 1 ranked team of Paige Hourigan and Kenya Jones of Georgia Tech in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 10-7.
Daavettila and Sanford will face Jessica Golovin and Eden Richardson of LSU on Saturday at 3 p.m. The winner will advance to Monday's national championship match.
The Tar Heel duo woke up Thursday morning not expected to compete this week in the NCAA Doubles Championship. But a late scratch inserted the Tar Heel duo into the field and by Friday afternoon had earned All-America status by advancing into the quarterfinals.
Daavettila and Sanford were both eliminated from the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday, but stuck around Winston-Salem as the first alternates in the doubles field. The Tar Heels' defeated Texas Tech's Sarah Dvorak and Sabrina Federici, 6-2, 6-4, in their opening round match, and come Friday they again won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, over Georgia's Mariana Gould and Katarina Jokic.
They're now a victory away from playing for a national title.Â
NCAA Singles Championship
First Round - Wednesday, May 23
#33 Jada Hart (UCLA) def. #26 Alle Sanford (UNC), 6-4, 7-5
[2] #2 Makenna Jones (UNC) def. No. 35 Gabby Smith (USC) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
[9-16] #11 Astra Sharma (Vandy) def. #46 Sara Daavettila (UNC) 6-1, 6-0
Second Round - Thursday, May 24
#28 Kelly Chen (Duke) def. [2] #2 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-3, 6-4
NCAA Doubles Championship
First Round - Thursday, May 24
#11 Contreras/Sharma (Vandy) def. [2] #2 Aney/Graham (UNC) 6-2, 6-4
#33 Sanford/Daavettila (UNC) def. #28 Dvorak/Federici (Texas Tech) 6-1, 4-6, 10-5
Second Round, Friday, May 25
#33 Sanford/Daavettila (UNC) def. #26 Gould/Jokic (UGA) 6-2, 6-2
Quarterfinals, Saturday, May 26
#33 Sanford/Daavettila (UNC) def. [1] #1 Hourigan/Jones (Georgia Tech) 6-4, 1-6, 10-7
Semifinals, Sunday, May 27
#33 Sanford/Daavettila (UNC) vs. #29 Golovin/Richardson (LSU), 3 p.m.
The Carolina duo, ranked No. 33 nationally, upended the No. 1 ranked team of Paige Hourigan and Kenya Jones of Georgia Tech in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 10-7.
Daavettila and Sanford will face Jessica Golovin and Eden Richardson of LSU on Saturday at 3 p.m. The winner will advance to Monday's national championship match.
The Tar Heel duo woke up Thursday morning not expected to compete this week in the NCAA Doubles Championship. But a late scratch inserted the Tar Heel duo into the field and by Friday afternoon had earned All-America status by advancing into the quarterfinals.
Daavettila and Sanford were both eliminated from the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday, but stuck around Winston-Salem as the first alternates in the doubles field. The Tar Heels' defeated Texas Tech's Sarah Dvorak and Sabrina Federici, 6-2, 6-4, in their opening round match, and come Friday they again won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, over Georgia's Mariana Gould and Katarina Jokic.
They're now a victory away from playing for a national title.Â
NCAA Singles Championship
First Round - Wednesday, May 23
#33 Jada Hart (UCLA) def. #26 Alle Sanford (UNC), 6-4, 7-5
[2] #2 Makenna Jones (UNC) def. No. 35 Gabby Smith (USC) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
[9-16] #11 Astra Sharma (Vandy) def. #46 Sara Daavettila (UNC) 6-1, 6-0
Second Round - Thursday, May 24
#28 Kelly Chen (Duke) def. [2] #2 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-3, 6-4
NCAA Doubles Championship
First Round - Thursday, May 24
#11 Contreras/Sharma (Vandy) def. [2] #2 Aney/Graham (UNC) 6-2, 6-4
#33 Sanford/Daavettila (UNC) def. #28 Dvorak/Federici (Texas Tech) 6-1, 4-6, 10-5
Second Round, Friday, May 25
#33 Sanford/Daavettila (UNC) def. #26 Gould/Jokic (UGA) 6-2, 6-2
Quarterfinals, Saturday, May 26
#33 Sanford/Daavettila (UNC) def. [1] #1 Hourigan/Jones (Georgia Tech) 6-4, 1-6, 10-7
Semifinals, Sunday, May 27
#33 Sanford/Daavettila (UNC) vs. #29 Golovin/Richardson (LSU), 3 p.m.
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