UNC Opens Tennis Fall Season This Weekend

Thursday, September 20

Malibu, Calif.

All Day

North Carolina

Oracle ITA Masters

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

September 19, 2018 | Women's Tennis

Live Scoring (Oracle ITA Masters)

By: Mark Kimmel

CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina begins its women's tennis fall schedule this weekend at both the Oracle ITA Masters and the Furman Fall Classic.

No. 27 Sara Daavettila and second-ranked Makenna Jones, both named ITA All-Americans in 2017-18, are competing out in Malibu, Calif., at the 2018 Oracle ITA Masters that takes place Sept. 20-23, at the Malibu Racquet Club (with additional matches held at Pepperdine University).

The men's and women's singles finals will be available to a national audience on ESPN3 and on the ESPN app, and later aired on ESPNU Monday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. EST/2 p.m. PST and Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. EST/2 p.m. PST.

The 2018 Oracle ITA Masters is the first ITA National Championship event of the 2018-19 collegiate tennis season. Thirty-two men's players, along with 32 women's players, were invited to participate in this national-level tournament that features the only mixed doubles event at a national collegiate championship.

The defending champion is Tar Heel sophomore Alle Sanford.

The 32nd annual Debbie Southern Fall Classic women's tennis tournament will be held this weekend at the Mickel Tennis Center on the campus of Furman University in Greenville, S.C. The tournament will feature 12 teams, in a flighted competition (i.e. no team winner, just individual flight champions for singles and doubles).

Scheduled to compete for UNC is No. 58 Alexa Graham, No. 82 Chloe Ouellet-Pizer, and freshmen Cameron Morra (No. 6 in ITA newcomer top-10) and Sophia Patel.

Eleven teams competing in the tournament were ranked in the top 38 in the 2018 final ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings: Vanderbilt (2), North Carolina (3), Duke (4), Georgia Tech (5), Texas (6), South Carolina (12), Florida State (16), Wake Forest (27), Mississippi State (29), Ohio State (33), and Clemson (39).

The 12-team field includes 21 singles players ranked in the top 75 and 11 doubles teams ranked in the top 40 in the preseason ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings.

Doubles play will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, followed by singles action at 1 p.m. Play will continue on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m. each day. Admission is free to the event.