The North Carolina Tar Heels women’s team made it 2 titles in the last 3 years as they defeated a tough Georgia team 4-1 in this afternoon’s ITA Women’s National Team Indoor Championship.
North Carolina jumped up on Georgia early in doubles and really cruised on both courts 2 and 3 taking each 6-2. North Carolina carried the momentum from doubles over to singles and took 1st sets at 1, 2, 3, and 4 while Georgia grabbed the opening set at 5 and 6.
It looked like it was going to be a Tar Heel rout but Georgia started slowly pecking away at the UNC leads on courts 1, 3, and 4 by going up early breaks in the 2nd set. The only court where North Carolina never went down a break was on court 2 with Hayley Carter in control virtually the entire match in a route to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Ellen Perez. The only opening for Perez came when she broke Carter to get it back on serve at 5-4 in the 2nd but Carter promptly broke back to give UNC point #2.
Whitney Kay would put UNC up 3-0 by closing out Silvia Garcia 6-4, 6-3 at #4 singles in a match that see-sawed back and forth despite the score looking somewhat lopsided. After Kay went up an early break in the 1st, Garcia got it back on serve and it stayed that way until Kay broke to take the opening set 6-4. Garcia would go up an early break in the 2nd and served up 2-1 but Kay quickly got it back on serve and would then break again to go up 5-3 and then Kay served it out.
It then looked like Jamie Loeb was going to close out the victory for North Carolina after she rallied from 3-0 down in the 2nd to go ahead 5-4 and she was serving for the match. Loeb would get broke after falling behind 0-40 then Herring would hold and break again to take the 2nd set 7-5.
With the 3rd set just starting on 1, Georgia was up a break in the 3rd on 3, 5, and 6 and it looked like we might be heading towards a 3-3 match with the decider coming at 1. Georgia’s Kennedy Shaffer was serving for the match at 3 and had 2 match points at 5-4 40-30 but she was unable to close it after spraying a forehand wide on the deciding point. While Shaffer was struggling to finish off Caroline Price her teammate Caroline Brinson would have no trouble at 6 and would take out Kate Vialle 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. With Georgia now within 3-1, the Bulldogs Hannah King was serving for the match up 5-1 at #5 but Shaffer had gone down 6-5 and Lauren Herring went down a double break at 1. King would get broke on 5 and moments later UNC’s Caroline Price would break Shaffer again to take the match 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 and send the Tar Heels back to the winner’s circle yet again.
UNC Recap
UGA Recap
ITA Recap
Zoo Tennis Recap
#3 North Carolina 4, #9 [8] Georgia 1
Feb 09, 2015 at Charlottesville, VA (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Doubles competition
1. #13 Ashley Dai/Kate Vialle (NC) vs. Lauren Herring/Ellen Perez (UGA) 4-4, unfinished
2. Jamie Loeb/Caroline Price (NC) def. Kennedy Shaffer/Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-2
3. Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (NC) def. Caroline Brinson/Hannah King (UGA) 6-2
Singles competition
1. #8 Jamie Loeb (NC) vs. #19 Lauren Herring (UGA) 6-2, 5-7, 3-1, unfinished
2. #31 Hayley Carter (NC) def. Ellen Perez (UGA) 6-3, 6-4
3. #22 Caroline Price (NC) def. Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
4. Whitney Kay (NC) def. #83 Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
5. Ashley Dai (NC) vs. #91 Hannah King (UGA) 4-6, 6-4, 2-5, unfinished
6. Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Kate Vialle (NC) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,4,6,3)
All the main draw box scores for the tournament are on my Women’s NTI Tournament Page.
______________________________________________________________
It was a light day of activity on the men’s side with the only top 50 team in action being the Ole Miss Rebels as they defeated Troy 4-3. The match was played indoors at the Rebel’s 3 court indoor facility so Ole Miss actually led 4-0 before most of the other matches got underway. Ole Miss will now make its way to Chicago for this weekend’s Men’s National Team Indoors where the Rebels will likely face #2 Oklahoma.
Ole Miss Recap
#19 Ole Miss 4, Troy 3
Feb. 9, 2015 at Oxford, Mississippi (Gillom Sports Center)
Doubles competition
1. Gustav Hansson/William Kallberg (OM) def. Pablo Moreno/Andy Lau (TROY) 6-3
2. Nik Scholtz/Zvonimir Babic (OM) def. Gabriel Dias/Hassan Ndayishimye (TROY) 6-4
3. Stefan Lindmark/Grey Hamilton (OM) def. Daniel Bustamante/Calum McKinlay (TROY) 6-1
Singles competition
1. Nik Scholtz (OM) def. Hassan Ndayishimye (TROY) 6-3, 6-4
2. Stefan Lindmark (OM) def. Gabriel Dias (TROY) 7-5, 6-2
3. William Kallberg (OM) def. Andy Lau (TROY) 6-4, 6-3
4. Daniel Bustamante (TROY) def. Zvonimir Babic (OM) 2-6, 6-3, 10-8
5. Giovani Samaha (TROY) def. Ricardo Jorge (OM) 6-3, 6-2
6. Pablo Moreno (TROY) def. Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-4, 6-4
Match Notes
Troy 5-4
Ole Miss 4-0; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,1,2,4,5,6)
________________________________________________________________
The next set of rankings will come out tomorrow however the ITA doesn’t publish them for some reason – I guess they feel that if they aren’t published then the general public won’t know if they make a few changes and move a team up or down despite being ranked higher or lower. Despite all the hoopla in my opinion there are only 3 seeds that aren’t locked down yet for Friday’s Round of 16. I think the 4, 5, and 6 seeds may be different from last week’s rankings since #5 Illinois and #6 Duke both won impressively over the weekend with Illinois beating #27 Kentucky 7-0 and #51 Purdue 6-1 and Duke beating #20 Tennessee 5-2 and #47 Michigan 6-1 while #4 Georgia beat #75 Georgia Tech 4-3. In reality Georgia Tech is a top 30 team but it’ll take another month before they move up.
When the NTI draw is announced on Wednesday I think we’re looking at a draw like this if they don’t shift anyone in this weeks rankings:
[1] USC vs. [16] Penn State
[8] Ohio State vs. [9] Texas
[5] Illinois vs. [12] California
[4] Georgia vs. [13] Columbia
[3] Virginia vs. [14] TCU
[6] Duke vs. [11] UCLA
[7] North Carolina vs. [10] Baylor
[2] Oklahoma vs. [15] Ole Miss
Working on a piece for tomorrow about Ohio State’s 200 match home court winning streak. What I thought was going to be an easy recap of it’s 200 wins is proving a little problematic. More details tomorrow…
Sunday Results:
Saturday Results:
_______________________________________________________
The Women’s National Team Indoors (NTI) gets started on Friday morning at 9am in Charlottesville, Virginia at the Boars Head Sport Club – Boyd Tinsley Courts. Use the below links to help follow everything:
ITA Event Page
Master Lineups
Monday Results:
NTI Championship:
#3 North Carolina 4, #9 [8] Georgia 1
Feb 09, 2015 at Charlottesville, VA (Boar’s Head Sports Club)
Doubles competition
1. #13 Ashley Dai/Kate Vialle (NC) vs. Lauren Herring/Ellen Perez (UGA) 4-4, unfinished
2. Jamie Loeb/Caroline Price (NC) def. Kennedy Shaffer/Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-2
3. Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (NC) def. Caroline Brinson/Hannah King (UGA) 6-2
Singles competition
1. #8 Jamie Loeb (NC) vs. #19 Lauren Herring (UGA) 6-2, 5-7, 3-1, unfinished
2. #31 Hayley Carter (NC) def. Ellen Perez (UGA) 6-3, 6-4
3. #22 Caroline Price (NC) def. Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
4. Whitney Kay (NC) def. #83 Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
5. Ashley Dai (NC) vs. #91 Hannah King (UGA) 4-6, 6-4, 2-5, unfinished
6. Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Kate Vialle (NC) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,4,6,3
Sunday Results:
#9 [8] Georgia 4, #5 California 2
Doubles Results
1. #4 Maegen Manasse/Denise Starr (CAL) def. Lauren Herring/Ellen Perez (UGA) 6-3
2. Silvia Garcia/Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. #9 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (CAL) 6-3
3. Hannah King/Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Stephane Lin/Karla Popovic (CAL) 6-1
Singles Results
1. #5 Maegen Manasse (CAL) vs. #19 Lauren Herring (UGA) 7-6, 2-4, unfinished
2. #78 Klara Fabikova (CAL) def. Ellen Perez (UGA) 6-2, 6-2
3. Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. #14 Zsofi Susanyi (CAL) 6-3, 6-4
4. #64 Denise Starr (CAL) def. #83 Silvia Garcia (UGA) 6-3, 7-5
5. #91 Hannah King (UGA) def. #30 Karla Popovic (CAL) 7-5, 6-3
6. Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Cecilia Estlander (CAL) 6-2, 6-4
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,3,6,4,5)
#3 North Carolina 4, #2 Florida 0
Doubles competition
1. #7 Brooke Austin/Kourtney Keegan (UF) def. #13 Ashley Dai/Kate Vialle (NC) 6-1
2. Jamie Loeb/Caroline Price (NC) def. #17 Brianna Morgan/Belinda Woolcock (UF) 6-4
3. Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (NC) def. #25 Spencer Liang/Peggy Porter (UF) 6-2
Singles competition
1. #6 Brooke Austin (UF) vs. #8 Jamie Loeb (NC) 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 2-2, unfinished
2. #9 Brianna Morgan (UF) vs. #31 Hayley Carter (NC) 3-6, 6-4, 1-3, unfinished
3. #22 Caroline Price (NC) def. #11 Belinda Woolcock (UF) 6-1, 6-1
4. Whitney Kay (NC) def. #43 Peggy Porter (UF) 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4)
5. Ashley Dai (NC) def. #40 Kourtney Keegan (UF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. #26 Spencer Liang (UF) vs. Kate Vialle (NC) 5-7, 5-5, unfinished
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,4,5)
Saturday Results:
#9 [8] Georgia 4, #1 UCLA 2
Doubles competition
1. #1 Catherine Harrison/Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. Lauren Herring/Ellen Perez (UGA) 6-1
2. Silvia Garcia/Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) def. Robin Anderson/Terri Fleming (UCLA) 6-3
3. Caroline Brinson/Hannah King (UGA) def. Chanelle Van Nguyen/Kristin Wiley (UCLA) 6-2
Singles competition
1. #2 Robin Anderson (UCLA) vs. #19 Lauren Herring (UGA) 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 3-4, unfinished
2. Ellen Perez (UGA) def. #3 Chanelle Van Nguyen (UCLA) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
3. Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
4. #79 Kaitlin Ray (UCLA) def. #83 Silvia Garcia (UGA) 7-5, 6-2
5. #91 Hannah King (UGA) def. Terri Fleming (UCLA) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Kristin Wiley (UCLA) 6-0, 6-2
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,4,2,3,5)
#3 North Carolina 4, #12 Miami 0
Doubles competition
1. #15 Monique Albuquerque/Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. #13 Ashley Dai/Kate Vialle (NC) 6-4
2. Jamie Loeb/Caroline Price (NC) def. #8 Stephanie Wagner/Lina Lileikite (UM) 6-0
3. Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (NC) def. #37 Sinead Lohan/Wendy Zhang (UM) 7-6
Singles competition
1. #8 Jamie Loeb (NC) vs. #7 Stephanie Wagner (UM) 4-6, 6-2, 0-0, unfinished
2. #31 Hayley Carter (NC) vs. #39 Sinead Lohan (UM) 7-5, 5-5, unfinished
3. #22 Caroline Price (NC) def. #94 Lina Lileikite (UM) 6-3, 6-0
4. Whitney Kay (NC) def. #88 Clementina Riobueno (UM) 6-4, 6-4
5. Ashley Dai (NC) vs. #58 Wendy Zhang (UM) 7-6, 2-2, unfinished
6. Kate Vialle (NC) def. Monique Albuquerque (UM) 6-3, 7-5
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,4,6)
#2 Florida 4, #10 [7] Virginia 1
Doubles competition
1. #7 Brooke Austin/Kourtney Keegan (UF) def. #22 Julia Elbaba/Stephanie Nauta (VA) 7-6 (7-3)
2. #17 Josie Kuhlman/Peggy Porter (UF) def. #11 Cassie Mercer/Skylar Morton (VA) 6-4
3. Belinda Woolcock/Spencer Liang (UF) def. Danielle Collins/Maci Epstein (VA) 7-6 (8-6)
Singles competition
1. #1 Julia Elbaba (VA) vs. #6 Brooke Austin (UF) 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 1-3, unfinished
2. #9 Josie Kuhlman (UF) def. #42 Danielle Collins (VA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. #11 Brianna Morgan (UF) def. #16 Stephanie Nauta (VA) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
4. #43 Belinda Woolcock (UF) def. Skylar Morton (VA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Maci Epstein (VA) def. #40 Peggy Porter (UF) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
6. Cassie Mercer (VA) vs. #26 Kourtney Keegan (UF) 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 0-0, unfinished
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,2,4,3)
#5 Cal 4, #20 TCU 1
Doubles competition
1. #4 Maegen Manasse/Denise Starr (CAL) def. Stefanie Tan/Seda Arantekin (TCU) 7-5
2. #9 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (CAL) def. Simona Parajova/Sofiko Kadzhaya (TCU) 6-4
3. Palina Dubavets/Alexis Pereira (TCU) def. Karla Popovic/Cecilia Estlander (CAL) 6-3
Singles competition
1. #5 Maegen Manasse (CAL) def. Stefanie Tan (TCU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Simona Parajova (TCU) def. #78 Klara Fabikova (CAL) 6-3, 6-1
3. #14 Zsofi Susanyi (CAL) def. Sofiko Kadzhaya (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
4. #64 Denise Starr (CAL) vs. Palina Dubavets (TCU) 4-6, 6-2, 3-0, unfinished
5. #30 Karla Popovic (CAL) def. Alexis Pereira (TCU) 7-5, 6-3
6. Cecilia Estlander (CAL) vs. Seda Arantekin (TCU) 4-6, 3-4, unfinished
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,5,3)
Friday Results (ITA Recaps):
#12 Miami 4, #7 [6] Alabama 1
Doubles competition
1. #18 Maya Jansen/Erin Routliffe (UA) def. #8 Lina Lileikite/Stephanie Wagner (UM) 6-3
2. #15 Monique Albuquerque/Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Danielle Spielmann/Emily Zabor (UA) 6-3
3. #37 Wendy Zhang/Sinead Lohan (UM) def. Natalia Maynetto/Luicelena Perez (UA) 7-6 (8-6)
Singles competition
1. #25 Erin Routliffe (UA) vs. #7 Stephanie Wagner (UM) 7-5, 6-7, 1-2, unfinished
2. #39 Sinead Lohan (UM) def. #56 Danielle Spielmann (UA) 6-2, 7-5
3. #59 Maya Jansen (UA) vs. #94 Lina Lileikite (UM) 6-4, 4-6, 4-5, unfinished
4. #88 Clementina Riobueno (UM) def. Emily Zabor (UA) 6-1, 6-2
5. Luicelena Perez (UA) def. #58 Wendy Zhang (UM) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
6. Monique Albuquerque (UM) def. Natalia Maynetto (UA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,2,5,6)
#3 North Carolina 5, #16 Oklahoma State 1
Doubles competition
1. #13 Ashley Dai/Kate Vialle (NC) vs. #5 Viktoriya Lushkova/Kelsey Laurente (OSU) 3-3, unfinished
2. Jamie Loeb/Caroline Price (NC) def. Katarina Adamovic/Vladica Babic (OSU) 6-1
3. Hayley Carter/Whitney Kay (NC) def. Maria Alvarez/Carla Tur Mari (OSU) 6-1
Singles competition
1. #8 Jamie Loeb (NC) def. #10 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. #31 Hayley Carter (NC) vs. Kelsey Laurente (OSU) 4-6, 2-4, unfinished
3. #22 Caroline Price (NC) def. #53 Katarina Adamovic (OSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Vladica Babic (OSU) def. Whitney Kay (NC) 6-4, 6-1
5. Ashley Dai (NC) def. Karyn Guttormsen (OSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Kate Vialle (NC) def. Carla Tur Mari (OSU) 6-1, 6-3
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,4,5,3,6)
#20 TCU 4, #4 Duke 3
Doubles competition
1. Ester Goldfeld/Alyssa Smith (DU) vs. Stefanie Tan/Seda Arantekin (TCU) 4-5, unfinished
2. Beatrice Capra/Rachel Kahan (DU) def. Simona Parajova/Sofiko Kadzhaya (TCU) 6-2
3. Annie Mulholland/Samantha Harris (DU) def. Palina Dubavets/Alexis Pereira (TCU) 6-4
Singles competition
1. #87 Ester Goldfeld (DU) def. Stefanie Tan (TCU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Simona Parajova (TCU) def. #55 Samantha Harris (DU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Sofiko Kadzhaya (TCU) def. Rachel Kahan (DU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Palina Dubavets (TCU) def. Alyssa Smith (DU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Rebecca Smaller (DU) def. Seda Arantekin (TCU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
6. Alexis Pereira (TCU) def. Annie Mulholland (DU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,2,4,5,1,6
#5 Cal 4, #11 Vanderbilt 3
Doubles competition
1. #32 Courtney Colton/Sydney Campbell (VANDY) def. #4 Denise Starr/Maegen Manasse (CAL) 7-6
2. #9 Klara Fabikova/Zsofi Susanyi (CAL) def. Ashleigh Antal/Marie Casares (VANDY) 6-2
You are probably right – they usually don't drop someone down for a close win. We'll find out for sure on Wednesday.
I think they will keep georgia at four: one loss to top ranked usc plus they are the most established power of the three. Illinois stays at five: host team gets an easier first round match up, Cal as opposed to ucla or baylor.