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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC women's tennis falls short in ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships

The No. 2 North Carolina women’s tennis team lost, 4-2, to No. 1 Florida in the final round of the ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championship at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Conn. This was the Tar Heels' (8-1) third straight appearance in the tournament’s deciding match.

What happened?

After a decisive 4-0 victory over tournament host-school Yale in the opening round, UNC’s first test came in the quarterfinals against No. 8 California. The Tar Heels were able to avenge their loss to the Golden Bears in the finals of last year’s ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championship with a 4-2 victory to advance to the semifinals this season. After taking the doubles point to gain the early advantage, victories by sophomores Chloe Ouellet-Pizer and Jessie Aney and senior Hayley Carter sealed the win.

No. 7 Ohio State proved to be an even tougher test, as UNC squeaked out a 4-3 victory to advance to the finals. With both teams winning one of the three doubles matches, the crucial point would be decided on Court No. 3. The tandem of Ouellet-Pizer and first-year Alexa Graham would come away with the victory after winning a tightly-contested tiebreaker 7-5.

Aney would quickly double her team’s lead, dropping a combined four games in her straight-sets win. The Buckeyes evened the score with victories over Graham and fellow first-year Makenna Jones. Sara Daavettila gained the lead back with her come-from-behind defeat of junior Anna Sanford, but the Buckeyes would again draw even after Ouellet-Pizer dropped her match in three sets.

A spot in the championship match would be decided by the top-five matchup between No. 5 Carter and No. 1 Francesca Di Lorenzo. Coming in, the odds were not in Carter’s favor. She had lost all three of her previous encounters with the sophomore, including twice in tournaments earlier in the season. After splitting the first two sets, with the victor winning by a 6-4 score, Carter was able to break Di Lorenzo midway through the deciding set. She used that advantage to go on and win the set 6-4, sealing the victory for her team.

The final match was set to be an even matchup between the nation’s top two team, with the Gators having six players ranked in the top 60 and the Tar Heels coming in just behind them with five.

UNC found itself behind early after losing the doubles point for the first time this season. The team was down 2-0 pretty quickly after two-time SEC Player of the Year Brook Austin dispatched of Ouellet-Pizer, winning both sets 6-1. Daavettila again came up big for her team with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 23 Anna Danilina. After both teams picked up another win, the Gators held a 3-2 advantage, leaving the Tar Heels' fate on the rackets of Carter and Aney.

Who stood out?

No. 2 Daavettila won five of the eight matches she competed in over the four-day tournament, with the other three not being finished. For the first-year not to lose a match on the biggest stage she has been on in her young collegiate career is the perfect ending to her near-perfect start in college tennis. She is 8-0 early on in the dual-match season and 28-3 overall in the first half of her opening act at North Carolina.

When was it decided?

With the Tar Heels down 3-2, Carter and Aney were both in third sets to decide the championship. After Aney won the second set 6-1 in dominating fashion, she battled back to tie the final set at three all. Aney was on the verge of taking a 4-3 lead, with Carter up 4-0 in her third set, when Florida's Ingrid Neel held on and carried that momentum to a title-clinching victory.

Why does it matter?

Despite the loss to the nation’s No. 1 team, UNC competed with the top teams in the country. Defeating two top-10 teams, and being on the verge of beating a third, bodes well for the Tar Heels, who still have a tough schedule remaining.

Where do they play next?

North Carolina will be back at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center Feb. 21 for a doubleheader against in-state opponents Elon and Appalachian State.

@CPhillips2020

sports@dailytarheel.com

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