Friday, May 21
Orlando, Fla.
5:30 PM
North Carolina
vs
Pepperdine
Photo by: Manuela Davies/USTA
Women's Tennis Takes On Pepperdine In NCAA Final Four
May 20, 2021 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO - The pursuit for the first NCAA Team National Championship for the North Carolina women's tennis program continues on Friday with a semifinal matchup with Pepperdine from the USTA National Campus. Tennis Channel has live coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET.Â
The unbeaten and top seeded Tar Heels are in the NCAA Final Four for a fourth time since 2010, while the fifth seeded Waves have reached the semifinals for the first time.
HOW WE GOT HERE
North Carolina improved to 30-0 and registered its 48th-straight victory in the quarterfinals against Duke. Makenna Jones won the clinching match on court four to give the Tar Heels a 4-1 victory over the Blue Devils. The previous three rounds saw UNC post 4-0 wins over SC State, Old Dominion and last Sunday against 16th seed Cal.
Pepperdine outlasted SoCal rival UCLA for a 4-3 victory in a match that took four hours and twenty minutes to complete on Wednesday night. The Waves dispensed of Northern Arizona and Stanford in the regional rounds, and swept Michigan, 4-0, in the Round of 16.Â
SERIES HISTORY
Carolina and Pepperdine have never met in the NCAA Team Championship, but have gone head-to-head in a pair of duals in recent years at the ITA Team Indoor National Championship.
UNC knocked off Pepperdine, 4-1, earlier this season on Feb. 6 in the semifinals of ITA Indoors. In addition, the two met in the 2018 indoor finals that went to the Tar Heels, 4-2, in Madison, Wisconsin. Â
TEAM CAPSULES
North Carolina (GoHeels.com)
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
National Seed: No. 1
Team Ranking: No. 1
Singles/Doubles Rankings: Sara Daavettila (2), Cameron Morra (27), Makenna Jones (32), Fiona Crawley (36), Alexa Graham (41), Elizabeth Scotty (97), Anika Yarlagadda (110), Reilly Tran (117); Daavettila/Morra (2), Jones/Scotty (4), Alle Sanford/Tran (34)
Record: 29-0
Bid: Automatic (ACC champions - 5th straight)
UNC makes its 22nd successive appearance in the NCAA Team Championship and 17th in a row under the leadership of head coach Brian Kalbas. The five-time reigning ACC champions own a 52-21 mark in NCAA team competition. The 2021 Tar Heel roster has joined the 2010, 2014 and 2019 teams that have previously reached the NCAA Final Four. A win over Pepperdine would send Carolina into just its second final in program history. The 2014 club fell 4-3 to UCLA.
Sara Daavettila (No. 1 seed), Fiona Crawley, Alexa Graham, Makenna Jones and Cameron Morra will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship, while Daavettila and Morra (No. 2 seed) and Jones and Elizabeth Scotty (No. 4 seed) will do battle in the NCAA Doubles Championship upon conclusion of the team championship.
By virtue of earning a national seed, Daavettila, Jones, Morra and Scotty have already earned All-America status for the 2020-21 season.
Daavettila and Kalbas were named the ACC Player and Coach of the Year, respectively. Led by Daavettila on the first team, Carolina placed a program-record five student-athletes on the All-ACC teams. Graham and Morra were placed on the second team, while Crawley and Jones were selected for the third team.
Pepperdine Waves (pepperdinewaves.com)
Location: Malibu, California
National Seed: No. 5
National Ranking: No. 5
Singles Rankings: Jessica Failla (21), Ashley Lahey (77), Taisya Pachkaleva (89), Shiori Fukuda (118)
Record: 24-3
Bid: Automatic (West Coast Conference champions - 8th straight)
Pepperdine rides a nine-match winning streak into Friday's semifinal match. The Waves have only lost three matches in 2021 - twice to UCLA, who they beat in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, and to Carolina in the ITA indoor semifinals.
Ashley Lahey, Taisiya Pachkaleva and head coach Per Nilsson swept the Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year awards from the West Coast Conference. Lahey, a former No. 1 ranked player in the country, is a four-time first team WCC selection. Pachkaleva is 25-1 in singles this season and has won 23 straight matches having not lost since February.
The unbeaten and top seeded Tar Heels are in the NCAA Final Four for a fourth time since 2010, while the fifth seeded Waves have reached the semifinals for the first time.
HOW WE GOT HERE
North Carolina improved to 30-0 and registered its 48th-straight victory in the quarterfinals against Duke. Makenna Jones won the clinching match on court four to give the Tar Heels a 4-1 victory over the Blue Devils. The previous three rounds saw UNC post 4-0 wins over SC State, Old Dominion and last Sunday against 16th seed Cal.
Pepperdine outlasted SoCal rival UCLA for a 4-3 victory in a match that took four hours and twenty minutes to complete on Wednesday night. The Waves dispensed of Northern Arizona and Stanford in the regional rounds, and swept Michigan, 4-0, in the Round of 16.Â
SERIES HISTORY
Carolina and Pepperdine have never met in the NCAA Team Championship, but have gone head-to-head in a pair of duals in recent years at the ITA Team Indoor National Championship.
UNC knocked off Pepperdine, 4-1, earlier this season on Feb. 6 in the semifinals of ITA Indoors. In addition, the two met in the 2018 indoor finals that went to the Tar Heels, 4-2, in Madison, Wisconsin. Â
TEAM CAPSULES
North Carolina (GoHeels.com)
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
National Seed: No. 1
Team Ranking: No. 1
Singles/Doubles Rankings: Sara Daavettila (2), Cameron Morra (27), Makenna Jones (32), Fiona Crawley (36), Alexa Graham (41), Elizabeth Scotty (97), Anika Yarlagadda (110), Reilly Tran (117); Daavettila/Morra (2), Jones/Scotty (4), Alle Sanford/Tran (34)
Record: 29-0
Bid: Automatic (ACC champions - 5th straight)
UNC makes its 22nd successive appearance in the NCAA Team Championship and 17th in a row under the leadership of head coach Brian Kalbas. The five-time reigning ACC champions own a 52-21 mark in NCAA team competition. The 2021 Tar Heel roster has joined the 2010, 2014 and 2019 teams that have previously reached the NCAA Final Four. A win over Pepperdine would send Carolina into just its second final in program history. The 2014 club fell 4-3 to UCLA.
Sara Daavettila (No. 1 seed), Fiona Crawley, Alexa Graham, Makenna Jones and Cameron Morra will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship, while Daavettila and Morra (No. 2 seed) and Jones and Elizabeth Scotty (No. 4 seed) will do battle in the NCAA Doubles Championship upon conclusion of the team championship.
By virtue of earning a national seed, Daavettila, Jones, Morra and Scotty have already earned All-America status for the 2020-21 season.
Daavettila and Kalbas were named the ACC Player and Coach of the Year, respectively. Led by Daavettila on the first team, Carolina placed a program-record five student-athletes on the All-ACC teams. Graham and Morra were placed on the second team, while Crawley and Jones were selected for the third team.
Pepperdine Waves (pepperdinewaves.com)
Location: Malibu, California
National Seed: No. 5
National Ranking: No. 5
Singles Rankings: Jessica Failla (21), Ashley Lahey (77), Taisya Pachkaleva (89), Shiori Fukuda (118)
Record: 24-3
Bid: Automatic (West Coast Conference champions - 8th straight)
Pepperdine rides a nine-match winning streak into Friday's semifinal match. The Waves have only lost three matches in 2021 - twice to UCLA, who they beat in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, and to Carolina in the ITA indoor semifinals.
Ashley Lahey, Taisiya Pachkaleva and head coach Per Nilsson swept the Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year awards from the West Coast Conference. Lahey, a former No. 1 ranked player in the country, is a four-time first team WCC selection. Pachkaleva is 25-1 in singles this season and has won 23 straight matches having not lost since February.
Players Mentioned
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