The North Carolina women’s tennis competed in the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Surprise, Ariz., last weekend. The Tar Heels were led by the second seed doubles team of junior Makenna Jones and first-year Cameron Morra, who lost to Pepperdine in the semifinals. It was the pair's first defeat this season.
What happened?
The Tar Heels had a strong start in the tournament with wins on Wednesday, Nov. 7, from Jones and junior Alexa Graham in the singles main draw. Morra fell to Ida Jarlskog from Florida, 6-1, 6-4, in the first round of singles. However, Morra had success alongside Jones in the doubles main draw against the duo of Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirez from Syracuse, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
North Carolina continued its success on the second day of the tournament. On Thursday, Nov. 8, Jones and Graham both defeated their opponents in singles to advance to the Round of 16. Jones and Morra beat Christina Rosca and Summer Dvorak from Vanderbilt in doubles, 6-3, 6-3. Morra played in the consolation singles bracket and lost to Maria Genovese from Tyler JC, 6-4, 6-0.
Graham lost on Friday to LSU's Eden Richardson in the Round of 16. Jones defeated No. 7 Meible Chi from Duke to advance to semifinals. Jones and Morra also advanced with a win against Anna Bright and Jasie Dunk from California, 6-1, 6-4. The Tar Heels suffered losses in the semifinal round in singles and doubles. Jones lost in singles and doubles, ending the tournament for North Carolina.
Who stood out?
Makenna Jones, the No. 2 ranked singles player in the nation, was North Carolina's top performer in the tournament. The junior advanced to the semifinals of both the singles and doubles draw. The run continues an impressive fall season for Jones, who also advanced to the semifinals of the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships earlier in the season.
Why does it matter?
The duo of Jones and Morra had a perfect 8-0 record prior to the semifinal round of the tournament. Selected for the doubles main draw as a Carolina Regional Champion, the pair suffered its first loss of the season to Pepperdine's Ashley Lahey and Evgeniya Levashova, 6-3, 6-0, in the semifinals.
