GoHeels Exclusive: As Tough As They Come

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Jessie Aney
University of North Carolina Women's Tennis v Duke
ACC Championship
Cary Tennis Center
Cary, NC
Sunday, April 21, 2019

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

Alexa Graham and the Tar Heels pose for a selfie.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

The Tar Heels claimed the program's fourth-consecutive ACC Title.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

April 23, 2019 | Women's Tennis, Featured Writers

Carolina Crowned ACC Champion Again

By: Pat James

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

CARY, N.C. — As the celebration ensued Sunday afternoon at Cary Tennis Park, one North Carolina women's tennis player's voice could be heard over all the others.

"Hey, seniors," Alexa Graham shouted. "I've got a question for you. What's it like to lose in the ACCs?"

She paused, giving Jessie Aney and Chloe Ouellet-Pizer a few seconds to answer. And they very well might have. But even if they did, they couldn't be heard over the phrase that Graham started repeatedly exclaiming: "You don't know!"

No, they don't, not after the Tar Heels beat Duke 4-2 in Sunday's ACC Tournament championship match, giving UNC four straight league titles. Those are the most ACC championships won in a row since the Blue Devils claimed 14 consecutive from 1988-2001. They're also the most won by two players, Aney and Ouellet-Pizer, in Carolina history.

Before the seniors' arrivals in the fall of 2015, the Tar Heels hadn't won a conference crown since 2011. It was seemingly all that had eluded an accomplished senior class that consisted of Ashley Dai, Whitney Kay and Kate Vialle. But they were determined to change that.

When they did in 2016, none of them likely foresaw the run that championship would spark. UNC won the ACC title again in 2017 and 2018. And although they accomplished the same goal, Brian Kalbas said each of those teams was different. That's the case this season, as well.

"We didn't really know what we had as a team, as far as the identity and DNA that we had to form," Kalbas said. "Every team is different. Every year is different. It might seem like they're similar, but this team has a very special nature about themselves. They're very close, they're connected, they're goofy, they're talented. But they're tough."

And they certainly showed that Sunday.

In Saturday's ACC semifinal match against Miami, Carolina's No. 1 doubles team of Aney and Graham was on the verge of losing for just the second time this season when the match was called. But the veteran duo bounced back Sunday, setting the tone with a 6-3 win.

Shortly after, Sara Daavettila and Alle Sanford won 6-3 on Court 3. The victory helped the tandem, which lost three of its doubles matches during last year's ACC Tournament, finish 3-0 in this year's event. Even more importantly, it helped the Tar Heels clinch the doubles point for the 30th time in as many matches this season.

That point proved crucial because the Blue Devils never went away, not even after Sanford opened singles play with a 6-3, 6-2 win on Court 6.

Nine days earlier, Kalbas elected not to put Sanford in the singles lineup against Georgia Tech, as he's done a few other times this season. But unlike before, Kalbas said Sanford showed no signs of negativity. The sophomore's since responded by playing some of her best tennis, with no performance being more convincing than Sunday's dismantling of Duke freshman Margaryta Bilokin, who's posted 20 dual wins this spring.

Sanford said she didn't have that sort of mental toughness as a freshman last season, when she went 4-10 at No. 1 singles. But she's developed it over time.

"It was really difficult to come in and play some of the best players in the nation, and I took a lot of losses and I think it hurt my confidence a little," she said. "I think my mindset with all of that was not right. But just the way I've matured and handled it over the past year and then even a little bit this year, it's starting to show in my game."

Makenna Jones underwent a similar transformation, obsessing over results as a freshman before emerging as a stalwart at No. 1 singles last season. And the lessons she learned surely paid off against Duke's Maria Mateas.

After dominating the first set 6-2, Jones jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second. But at that point, Mateas meticulously started plotting her comeback, and in a matter of minutes, she tied the set at five games apiece. Almost simultaneously, the Blue Devils picked up a win from Ellyse Hamlin on Court 5, cutting UNC's lead to 2-1.

Jones could've wilted under the pressure. Instead, she dug deep and won the next two games – both on deuce points – to secure the 6-2, 7-5 win and give Carolina a 3-1 lead.

"I think it took me until 5-all until I really decided, 'OK, I've got to earn this. It's not just going to be handed to me,'" Jones said. "I didn't maybe think that in the beginning, but I think I got a little bit excited and maybe nervous; there are a lot of different emotions. But I think at 5-all is when I really dug my heels in and started playing that high-level tennis that got me up 5-1."

With Jones' win, the Tar Heels needed only one more to capture the championship. That, however, was the hardest to come by.

Graham and Daavettila each won their first sets on Courts 2 and 3, respectively. But each of their opponents, Meible Chi and Kelly Chen, stormed back to force third sets. Thus, the crowd started shifting its attention to Court 4, where freshman Cameron Morra – the only player in UNC's lineup who had not won a league title – was mounting her own comeback.

In her first set, Morra trailed 5-1 before reeling off three straight games. Although she still lost the set, 6-4, she carried the momentum that she built into the second set, which she won 6-2.

The day before, Kalbas praised Morra for her maturity. He called her "as tough as they come, especially when the big moments come around." And in the biggest moment she's been in during her young collegiate career, Morra proved her coach right.

Morra held leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in the third set. By the time she went ahead 5-3, she noticed her teammates and coaches flocking toward her court, making her aware that she had the opportunity to clinch the win. Duke's Kaitlyn McCarthy didn't back down. But when the senior's backhand went long on what ended up being the final point, Morra threw her left fist into the air and her teammates swarmed her.

"I was so excited, but it's also a nice little sense of relief," Morra said. "I was just so excited for the team. To get this championship four years in a row now is incredible. And I'm lucky to be a part of this one."

Because she didn't have any experience to rely on as she went through the awards ceremony, Morra, unsure of where to go or what to do, paused when the announcement was made that she'd earned tournament MVP honors. By now, you might assume the rest of the Tar Heels are well-versed in the post championship choreography. But they also went through it as if it was their first time, embracing every second.

When the time came for the team trophy presentation, Kalbas had to remind Aney and Ouellet-Pizer to accept it. They then went to place it on the ground, in front of their teammates, for the group photo. That's the only time past experience came into play, as Graham said the trophy should be held and the "ACC Champions" sign needed to be in the front, just like last year.

From there, the players scattered across Court 1 and took a variety of pictures with each other, their coaches, friends and family members. Before long, they started loading the team van for the trip back to Chapel Hill.

But before leaving, Jessie, can you answer Alexa's question? What's it like to lose in the ACCs?

"You know," the senior said, smiling as she walked off the Cary Tennis Park courts for the last time, "I can't tell you."

And she'll never be able to.