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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC women's tennis falls 4-3 to Pepperdine in NCAA Final Four

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UNC senior Alexa Graham returns a volley during a doubles' match on March 28, 2021 at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The Tar Heels defeated the Fighting Irish 7-0.

After starting the season with a perfect 30-0 record, the North Carolina women’s tennis team fell to Pepperdine with a 4-3 loss in the NCAA semifinals.

What happened?

Pepperdine and UNC split the first two finished matches of the simultaneous doubles, with the Tar Heels winning match one 6-4 and the Waves winning match three 6-4. The deciding match for the doubles point came down to the fourth-ranked UNC duo of Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty, who were defeated by the unranked Pepperdine pairing of Shiori Fakuda and Taisiya Pachkaleva, 5-7. With this match, the first point went to the Waves for a 1-0 lead.

UNC needed the edge on four of the six singles proceeding matches to win. Having the higher-ranked player in five of those matches, the odds seemed to favor the Tar Heels. 

As the results of the first four matches began to line up, UNC looked to be on top. Fifth-year Alexa Graham’s match was the first singles to come in, taking down Pepperdine’s Jessica Failla 6-2,6-3. First-year Fiona Crawley and Sarah Daavettila earned the Tar Heels two more singles points winning their matches 6-3, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-4 respectively. This put North Carolina on top with three points to Pepperdine’s two. 

However, the streak stopped there, as Pepperdine took the final two matches, winning the match 4-3 to bring UNC's season to an end.

Who stood out?

Pepperdine’s duo of Fakuda and Pachkaleva pulled in the first point for their team with a surprising upset against the higher-seeded UNC team of Jones and Scotty. The point played a pivotal role in their team’s victory. 

For the Tar Heels, no. 2 seeded Sara Daavettila cemented an unbelievable 30-0 personal match record, winning both her doubles match and her singles point for the Tar Heels.

When was it decided?

The deficit point UNC took at the beginning was not enough to stall the team from an overall victory, as they rallied 3 points from the first four single matches. Even after the loss of the fifth match, the score was tied 3-3 between Pepperdine and UNC. 

The final singles match to end between No. 89 Taisiya Pachkaleva (PEPP) and No. 27 Cameron Morra (UNC) decided the final score, as Morra was defeated 7-6 (3), 6-3. 

Why does it matter?

As the top-ranked team of the entire tournament, UNC’s Women’s Tennis team delivered an incredible performance, ending the season 30-1. Pepperdine came out on top in the teams' second meeting of the season, preventing the Tar Heels from reaching the NCAA finals on Saturday against Texas.

When do they play next?

Though the team season is over, several players are to make an appearance at the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship, set to begin on Sunday, May 23.

Five Tar Heels are set to play the singles tournament. Sara Daavettila is top seed amongst the singles players. UNC is also putting forward two national seeded doubles teams: No. 2 Daavettila and Morra and No. 4 Jones and Scotty. 

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com