University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Manuela Davies/USTA
Heels Advance 2 Singles, 2 Doubles Teams at NCAAs
May 24, 2021 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO - Fifth-year seniors Sara Daavettila and Alexa Graham continued to find success at the NCAA Singles Championship on Monday. The duo both advanced to the Round of 16 with strong performances from the USTA National Campus.
UNC's seeded doubles teams also roared into the Round of 16 with a pair of victories on Monday afternoon. No. 2 seed Daavettila and Cameron Morra defeated No. 52 Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais of Ohio State, 7-5, 6-1, while No. 4 seed Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty outlasted No. 16 Ava Hrastar and Gia Cohen of Georgia Tech, 3-6, 6-3, 14-12.
Daavettila, the top seed in the singles field, dispatched No. 55 Lea Ma of Georgia, 6-4, 6-4, to become the first player in program history to reach the Round of 16 in this event three times.
Next up is a Tuesday bout with No. 21 Jessica Failla of Pepperdine. Daavettila won 6-3, 6-2 over Failla, who was playing for USC at the time, back in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Singles Championship in the only previous encounter between the two veterans.
Graham earned All-America status by reaching the Round of 16 in singles. The Garden City, New York, product, is a six-time ITA All-America selection, earning three citations in both singles and doubles during her five-year career.
Ranked 41st nationally, Graham took down No. 9 Natasha Subhash of Virginia in three sets in their second round encounter. Graham dropped the opening-set tiebreaker, but only lost one point over the final two sets to advance 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-1.
Graham gets 2019 NCAA singles champion Estela Perez-Somarriba of Miami, the top ranked player in the country and the No. 2 seed in the draw, on Tuesday. The only previous match between the two collegiate standouts went in favor Graham in three sets last Feb. 23 in Miami.
Meanwhile, Daavettila and Morra will face the Texas freshmen tandem of No. 19 Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun. Jones and Scotty take on No. 40 Katarina Kozarov and Julia Adams from Furman. Both doubles matches are scheduled for Tuesday evening.
NCAA Singles Championship
First Round - May 23, 2021
[1] #2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #48 Solymar Colling (USD) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
#41 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #28 Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) 6-1, 6-0
#20 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. #32 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-2, 6-2
#18 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. #27 Cameron Morra (UNC) 6-2, 6-3
#46 Ayana Akli (MD) def. #36 Fiona Crawley (UNC) 7-5, 7-5
Second Round - May 24, 2021
[1] #2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #55 Lea Ma (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
#41 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. [9-16] #9 Natasha Subhash (UVA) 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-1
Round of 16 - May 25, 2021
[1] #2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) vs. #21 Jessica Failla (PEPP)
#41 Alexa Graham (UNC) vs. [2] #1 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM)
NCAA Doubles Championship
First Round - May 24, 2021
[2] #2 Sara Daavettila/Cameron Morra (UNC) def. #52 Kolie Allen/Isabelle Boulais (OSU) 7-5, 6-1
[4] #4 Makenna Jones/Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) def. #16 Ava Hrastar/Gia Cohen (GT) 3-6, 6-3, 14-12
Round of 16 - May 25, 2021
[2] #2 Sara Daavettila/Cameron Morra (UNC) vs. #19 Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT), 7 p.m.
[4] #4 Makenna Jones/Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) vs. #40 Katarina Kozarov/Julia Adams (FU), 6 p.m.
UNC's seeded doubles teams also roared into the Round of 16 with a pair of victories on Monday afternoon. No. 2 seed Daavettila and Cameron Morra defeated No. 52 Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais of Ohio State, 7-5, 6-1, while No. 4 seed Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty outlasted No. 16 Ava Hrastar and Gia Cohen of Georgia Tech, 3-6, 6-3, 14-12.
Daavettila, the top seed in the singles field, dispatched No. 55 Lea Ma of Georgia, 6-4, 6-4, to become the first player in program history to reach the Round of 16 in this event three times.
Next up is a Tuesday bout with No. 21 Jessica Failla of Pepperdine. Daavettila won 6-3, 6-2 over Failla, who was playing for USC at the time, back in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Singles Championship in the only previous encounter between the two veterans.
Graham earned All-America status by reaching the Round of 16 in singles. The Garden City, New York, product, is a six-time ITA All-America selection, earning three citations in both singles and doubles during her five-year career.
Ranked 41st nationally, Graham took down No. 9 Natasha Subhash of Virginia in three sets in their second round encounter. Graham dropped the opening-set tiebreaker, but only lost one point over the final two sets to advance 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-1.
Graham gets 2019 NCAA singles champion Estela Perez-Somarriba of Miami, the top ranked player in the country and the No. 2 seed in the draw, on Tuesday. The only previous match between the two collegiate standouts went in favor Graham in three sets last Feb. 23 in Miami.
Meanwhile, Daavettila and Morra will face the Texas freshmen tandem of No. 19 Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun. Jones and Scotty take on No. 40 Katarina Kozarov and Julia Adams from Furman. Both doubles matches are scheduled for Tuesday evening.
NCAA Singles Championship
First Round - May 23, 2021
[1] #2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #48 Solymar Colling (USD) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
#41 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #28 Akvile Parazinskaite (UK) 6-1, 6-0
#20 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. #32 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-2, 6-2
#18 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. #27 Cameron Morra (UNC) 6-2, 6-3
#46 Ayana Akli (MD) def. #36 Fiona Crawley (UNC) 7-5, 7-5
Second Round - May 24, 2021
[1] #2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #55 Lea Ma (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
#41 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. [9-16] #9 Natasha Subhash (UVA) 6-7 (6), 6-0, 6-1
Round of 16 - May 25, 2021
[1] #2 Sara Daavettila (UNC) vs. #21 Jessica Failla (PEPP)
#41 Alexa Graham (UNC) vs. [2] #1 Estela Perez-Somarriba (UM)
NCAA Doubles Championship
First Round - May 24, 2021
[2] #2 Sara Daavettila/Cameron Morra (UNC) def. #52 Kolie Allen/Isabelle Boulais (OSU) 7-5, 6-1
[4] #4 Makenna Jones/Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) def. #16 Ava Hrastar/Gia Cohen (GT) 3-6, 6-3, 14-12
Round of 16 - May 25, 2021
[2] #2 Sara Daavettila/Cameron Morra (UNC) vs. #19 Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT), 7 p.m.
[4] #4 Makenna Jones/Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) vs. #40 Katarina Kozarov/Julia Adams (FU), 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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