In 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017, the North Carolina women’s tennis team won the doubles title at the ITA Carolinas Regional — and on Monday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, that winning tradition continued.
First-year Cameron Morra and junior Makenna Jones defeated a South Carolina doubles team, 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (8) in the final of this annual preseason tournament to capture the doubles title. Morra and Jones became the fifth Tar Heel doubles team in six years to bring home hardware from this event.
Coming into the tournament, Jones said she had already qualified for nationals in singles. And, because of this, she got the chance to start building on-court chemistry with Morra.
This was the first time Jones and Morra played together in competition.
“It was more like learning each other’s tendencies and how we handle situations and stuff like that,” Morra said. “But I think overall it was just really important for our team development and confidence.”
The tournament started on Thursday for Jones and Morra, and the Tar Heel tandem played five matches in five days. Although they both admitted that they weren’t playing as well as they could have been at the beginning, the two said they fed off each other well.
“The beauty was kind of just getting better by each match,” Jones said. “And by the last match, I think we were playing great, still not even to our full potential — which is awesome if you can win not playing to your full potential — but I think we just got better each match and that’s what mattered.”
Jones said Morra prefers to play on the baseline and ride out rallies, while she enjoys attacking from the net. Both are aggressive in trying to control points, though.
“We’re both very motivated, and we have good energy and are always pumped to play, and we kind of show it,” Jones said. “And I think the vibe is just good between the both of us.”
