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ITA Women: UCLA Stunned, Ohio State Claims 1st NTI Berth

by | Jan 24, 2016 | Blog | 1 comment

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14 of the 15 ITA Kickoff Regionals saw play today, with Cal struggling with rain for the second consecutive day. Five Regionals were completed with 3 No.1 seeds, a No.2 seed and a surprise No.3 seed claiming final victories to join Wisconsin at the ITA National Team Indoor, being held February 5-8 in Madison, WI.

#5 North Carolina Regional: Tar Heels Dominate Singles
The UNC Tar Heels, the reigning NTI champions, looked in good form today, blanking #48 Tulsa 4-0 to advance to Madison. UNC dropped only 10 games in their 5 completed first sets, with the No.4 match in a tiebreaker when play was called. Maria Akkerman was the star of the weekend, losing just three games in her two matches combined. Hayley Carter continued to impress this weekend and Whitney Kay did a complete 180 from yesterday to completely rout her ranked opponent. In the 3rd/4th playoff, #53 Marshall rallied from 1-3 down to take out #68 Yale, with the Herd claiming the win at No.1.
#5 North Carolina 4, #48 Tulsa 0

Singles
1. #6 Hayley Carter (UNC,11.69 UTR) def. Saana Saarteinen (TUL, 10.40 UTR) 6-0, 6-2
2. #88 Whitney Kay (UNC, 10.74 UTR) def. #95 Ksenia Laskutova (TUL, 10.04 UTR) 6-0, 6-1
3. Kate Vialle (UNC, 10.41 UTR) vs. Rongrong Leenabancho (TUL, 10.02 UTR) 7-5, 0-0
4. #68 Jessie Aney (UNC, 11.19 UTR) vs. Marcelina Cichon (TUL, 10.24 UTR) 6-6, unf
5. Marika Akkerman (UNC, 10.63 UTR) def. Yelena Nemchen (TUL, 9.74 UTR) 6-1, 6-0
6. #112 Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC, 10.53 UTR) def. Mahitda Dadireddy (TUL, 9.63 UTR) 6-4, 1-0
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 1*
Doubles
#2 Carter/Kay (UNC) def. Laskutova/Kuricova (TUL) 6-1
#46 Matoula/Leenabancho (TUL) def. #16 Vialle/Aney (UNC) 6-2
Ashley Dai/Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) def. Saarteinen/Dadireddy (TUL) 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*

#8 Virginia Regional: Cavaliers Too Strong
Columbia caused a UTR upset at No.4 singles, but UVA’s depth pushed the Cavaliers into the final NTI tournament. Danielle Collins continued her dominant season with a solid win over Kanika Vaidya, who spent the Fall season playing ITF tournaments. Virginia is a dark horse to go deep at NTI and continue throughout the season. They have one of, if not the best top 4 singles lineups in the country. BYU took the 3rd/4th playoff over Maryland with a 5-2 win. Mayci Jones won her first match since giving birth and sitting out last season and Natella Nabieva clinched with her own UTR upset.

#8 Virginia 6, #56 Columbia 1
Singles
1. #4 Danielle Collins (VUA, 12.07 UTR) def. Kanika Vaidya (COL, 10.49 UTR) 6-4, 6-3
2. #8 Julia Elbaba (UVA, 11.80 UTR) def. Rima Asatrian (COL, 10.04 UTR) 6-1, 6-4
3. #32 Skylar Morton (UVA, 10.85 UTR) def. Star Makarome (COL, 10.19 UTR) 6-2, 6-3
4. Alexandra Solovyev (COL, 9.92 UTR) def. #30 Stephanie Nauta (UVA, 10.93 UTR) 6-1, 0-6, 6-4 – UTR upset
5. Victoria Olivarez (UVA, 10.06 UTR) def. Andrea Kevakian (COL, 9.15 UTR) 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9)
6. Meghan Kelley (UVA, 10.17 UTR) def. Sarah Hu (COL, 9.71 UTR) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 2, 6*, 1, 4, 5
Doubles
1. #19 Danielle Collins/Meghan Kelley (UVA) def. Rima Asatrian/Alexandra Solovyev (COL) 6-2
2. Julia Elbaba/Skylar Morton (UVA) def. Adi Milstein/Kanika Vaidya (COL) 6-2
3. Stephanie Nauta/Victoria Olivarez (UVA) vs. Andrea Kevakian/Star Makarome (COL) 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1*
#9 UCLA Regional: Fresno State Stuns Bruins
While I said Fresno State needed to win the doubles point to stay competitive against UCLA, I’m pretty shocked that they pulled off the biggest upset of the year thus far. I was mighty impressed with Catherine Harrison’s rout at No.1 as Maiar Sherif Ahmed had a solid fall and I was expecting three sets. Maia Magill gave UCLA the UTR upset of the day, but Galina Bykova nearly had one with her win at No.4 to clinch the victory. It’s crucial that Terri Fleming get healthy to beef up the Bruin’s lineup or the season may be a roller coaster for UCLA. Arkansas claimed 3rd place in the Regional with a solid 4-1 win over UCI. Cassidy Branstine had a 2 point UTR upset at No.6 over Agne Cepelyte.

#54 Fresno State 4, #9 UCLA 3
Singles
1. #18 Catherine Harrison (UCLA, 11.52 UTR) def. #26 Maiar Sherif Ahmed (FS, 10.64 UTR) 6-1, 6-2
2. Kyle McPhillips (UCLA, 10.63 UTR) def. Sophie Watts (FS, 10.13 UTR) 7-5, 6-4
3. Rana Sherif Ahmed (FS, 9.63 UTR) def. Kristin Wiley (UCLA, 9.72 UTR) 6-4, 6-3
4. Galina Bykova (FS, 9.74 UTR) def. Alaina Miller (UCLA, 10.67 UTR) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
5. Maia Magill (UCLA, 7.96 UTR) def. Emma Wilson (FS, 9.38 UTR) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 – UTR upset
6. Anneka Watts (FS, 9.10 UTR) def. Laura Luca (UCLA, 7.09 UTR) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 6, 2, 3, 5, 4*
Doubles
1. Catherine Harrison/Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. Maiar Sherif Ahmed/Rana Sherif Ahmed (FS) 6-3
2. #58 Anneka Watts/Sophie Watts (FS) def. Terri Fleming/Maia Magill (UCLA) 6-1
3. Olivia Noble/Sofya Malysheva (FS) def. Alaina Miller/Kristin Wiley (UCLA) 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3*
#16 Duke Regional: Capra In Fine Form
Duke was dealt with an inspired Mississippi State squad in their Regional final, but Senior Beatrice Capra’s upset over Jasmine Lee guided way for the Blue Devils to return to the NTI. MSU battled well and Kristina Vozniak was a game from creating a huge UTR upset against Chalena Scholl, while Madison Harrison, Kansas transfer and brother of Ryan and Christian, battled against Kaitlyn McCarthy. While the result was never really in doubt, look for MSU to cause some waves in the SEC. Another result expected was Florida State’s 4-0 win over Portland in the 3rd/4th match. Portland was a game from a straight set win, just split sets in one match and was leading in the 3rd set in other remaining play.

#16 Duke 4, #29 Mississippi State 1
Singles
1. #28 Beatrice Capra (DU, 11.48 UTR) def. #13 Jasmine Lee (MSU, 11.81 UTR) 6-4, 6-3
2. #29 Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU, 11.55 UTR) def. Madison Harrison (MSU, 10.63 UTR) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
3. Georgiana Patrasc (MSU, 10.51 UTR) def. Samantha Harris (DU, 11.04 UTR) 6-4, 7-5
4. #70 Ellyse Hamlin (DU, 11.25 UTR) vs. #36 Anastasia Rentouli (MSU, 10.82 UTR) 4-6, 5-4, unfinished
5. Kristina Vozniak (MSU, 9.50 UTR) vs. #79 Chalena Scholl (DU, 10.63 UTR) 1-6, 7-5, 5-3, unfinished
6. Jessica Ho (DU, 10.26 UTR) def. Jennifer Brown (MSU, 10.06 UTR) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 2, 1, 3*
Doubles
1. #26 Beatrice Capra/Ellyse Hamlin (DU) def. Georgiana Patrasc/Madison Harrison (MSU) 6-3 
2. Samantha Harris/Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) vs. Jasmine Lee/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) 5-3, unfinished 
3. Alyssa Smith/Chalena Scholl (DU) def. #53 Kristina Vozniak/Jennifer Brown (MSU) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1*

#22 TCU Regional: Ohio State Creates History
While I expected Ohio State to win this Regional, I was surprised to see how well they recovered from their grueling Pepperdine win to just swipe TCU. Although her two matches were unfinished, Gaby De Santis was able to put her matches yesterday in the past and compete well against a tough Marie Norris. It was also nice to see Francesca Di Lorenzo get over her second loss of the year with a quick win to set Ferny Angeles Paz up for the victory. OSU will play in their first ever NTI tournament with the win and expect a program-high ranking when the ITA releases their rankings next week. Pepperdine took a 5-0 wash over Houston to claim their first victory of their season in the 3rd/4th match.
#18 Ohio State 4, #22 TCU 0

Singles
1. #2 Francesca Di Lorenzo (OSU, 12.02 UTR) def. Olaya Garrido-Rivas (TCU, 10.07 UTR) 6-2, 6-2
2. Gabriella De Santis (OSU, 10.31 UTR) vs. Marie Norris (TCU, 10.86 UTR) 6-4, 4-3, unfinished
3. Anna Sanford (OSU, 10.52 UTR) def. Aleksandra Zenovka (TCU, 10.32 UTR) 6-3, 6-1
4. Miho Kowase (OSU, 10.33) vs. Caroline Wegner (TCU, 10.16 UTR) 6-2, 4-3, unfinished
5. Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU, 10.48 UTR) def. Alexis Pereira (TCU, 9.84 UTR) 6-0, 6-4
6. Grainne O’Neill (OSU, 9.70 UTR) vs. Seda Arantekin (TCU, 9.74 UTR) 0-0, unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 1, 5*
Doubles
1. #6 Anna Sanford/Miho Kowase (OSU) def. #17 Seda Arantekin/Caroline Wegner (TCU) 6-4
2. Gabriella De Santis/Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU) vs. Marie Norris/Alexis Pereira (TCU) 5-2, unfinished
3. Olivia Sneed/Francesca Di Lorenzo (OSU) def. Olaya Garrido-Rivas/Mia King (TCU) 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1*

SATURDAY RESULTS
TCU Regional
No. 3 Pepperdine 5, No. 4 Houston 0
No. 2 Ohio State 4, No. 1 TCU 0 – Ohio State advances to #ITAIndoors
Virginia Regional
No. 1 Virginia 6, No. 2 Columbia 1 – Virginia advances to #ITAIndoorsNo. 4 BYU 5, No. 3 Maryland 2
North Carolina Regional
No. 1 North Carolina 4, No. 2 Tulsa 0 – North Carolina advances to #ITAIndoors
Duke Regional
No. 3 Florida State 4, No. 4 Portland 0
No. 1 Duke 4, No. 2 Mississippi State 1 – Duke advances to #ITAIndoors
UCLA Regional
No. 3 Fresno State 4, No. 1 UCLA 3 – Fresno State advances to #ITAIndoors

Miami (FL) Regional
No. 1 Miami (FL) 4, No. 4 Middle Tennessee State 0
No. 2 Auburn 4, No. 3 Michigan State 0

Texas Tech Regional
No. 1 Texas Tech 4, No. 4 Oregon 0
No. 3 Illinois 4, No. 2 Virginia Tech 3

Alabama Regional
No. 2 Texas 4, No. 3 Purdue 1
No. 1 Alabama 5, No. 4 Pennsylvania 0

Oklahoma State Regional
No. 1 Oklahoma State 4, No. 4 Notre Dame 0
No. 2 Northwestern 4, No. 3 Arizona State 2

Vanderbilt Regional
No. 1 Vanderbilt 4, No. 4 Denver 0
No. 3 Brown 4, No. 2 Penn State 0

Texas A&M Regional
No. 2 Wichita State 4, No. 3 Minnesota 1
No. 1 Texas A&M 4, No. 4 South Alabama 0

Michigan Regional
No. 2 Kentucky 4, No. 3 Dartmouth 1
No. 1 Michigan 4, No. 4 San Francisco 0

Georgia Tech Regional
No. 1 Georgia Tech 4, No. 4 William & Mary 1
No. 2 LSU 4, No. 3 DePaul 0

1 Comment

  1. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    Not to be critical of Ucla as they are the most successful program over the past 4-5 years, but they really should not have been ranked in the top 25. They lost 4 starters to graduation but only brought in 1 this year. Moreover, that was a late add in January. Generally, frosh starting in Jan imparts umeven play over the first few months as they tend to go for too many winners. And with a few injuries to others players they were so depleted they had to add on a player from the club team a few weeks ago. If that continues they will start every match down by 1 against any decent teams. Further complicating their prognosis is the fact that 2 of their injured have not stayed fit and look very different from last year. If theit recovery is slow they will be playing shorthanded every match. This applies stress to the remaining players as they have to be on for every match. All in all it might be a very trying season for a team that is used to owning most opponents.

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