UCLA
North Carolina
No. 8 UCLA's Fight Falls Short Against No. 3 UNC
February 10, 2019 | Women's Tennis
SEATTLE โ The No. 8 UCLA women's tennis team dropped its ITA Team Indoors Championships quarterfinal-round match against No. 3 North Carolina 4-1 Sunday at Nordstrom Tennis Center.
The Bruins (5-1) were one point away from completing an improbable comeback in doubles play, but the Tar Heels triumphed there heading into singles action. Alaina Miller picked up the lone UCLA singles victory of the day, while Jada Hart and Abi Altick's matches were left unfinished with momentum on the side of the Bruins. Seventh-ranked Alexa Graham of UNC (8-0) notched the clinching win.
The Tar Heels blitzed the Bruins in the early goings of doubles play, jumping out to 4-0 advantages on Courts 1 and 3.
The pair of Graham and Jessie Aney struck first, toppling 14th-ranked Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield of UCLA 6-0. Upon completion of that one, the Bruin Court 5 combination of Abi Altick and Taylor Johnson was in the process of climbing out of its deep hole.
Playing against the Tar Heel tandem of Sara Daavettila and Alle Sanford, the Bruin pair not only knotted things up, but came up with a big break to seize its first advantage and then closed it out to move one step closer to the once-unlikely doubles point.
A top-15 tussle between No. 5 Makenna Jones-Cameron Morra of UNC and No. 15 Elysia Bolton-Jada Hart of UCLA lived up to its billing. In the back-and-forth affair, Bolton-Hart took a 5-3 lead into a potential clinching ninth game. The Tar Heels responded, though, eventually forcing a deciding tiebreaker. Fittingly, the seven-point goal was not enough. Jones-Morra prevailed 9-7 and put UNC on the board.
Four six singles first sets went the way of the Tar Heels. Aney quickly made it 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Johnson on Court 6. Then, in another meeting of top-ranked opponents, No. 15 Daavettila dealt No. 18 Bolton her first dual-match loss of the season.
Despite the 3-0 deficit, though, the Bruins remained firmly in the hunt for a semifinal-round berth.
UCLA's Alaina Miller broke through with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 win over No. 104 Alle Sanford to make it 3-1. The win improved the senior's dual-match record to 5-0.
No. 77 Altick split sets with No. 20 Morra while Hart inched closer to an upset victory over No. 6 Jones, but time ran out on them when Graham completed her clinching straight set win over No. 117 Broomfield 6-4, 6-3.
Unsafe road conditions Saturday pushed competition back one day, leading to the cancelation of third-day consolation matches. The Bruins will not compete in any dual matches until Feb. 22, when they pay a visit to Saint Mary's for a 2 p.m. contest.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs North Carolina
2/10/2019 at Seattle, WA
(Nordstrom Tennis Center)
#3 North Carolina 4, #8 UCLA 1
Singles competition
1. Jada Hart (UCLA) vs. #6 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-3, 6-5
2. #15 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #18 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3
3. #7 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #117 Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3
4. #77 Abi Altick (UCLA) vs. #20 Cameron Morra (UNC) 5-7, 6-2, unfinished
5. Alaina Miller (UCLA) def. #104 Alle Sanford (UNC) 7-5, 7-5
6. Jessie Aney (UNC) def. Taylor Johnson (UCLA) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Aney/Graham (UNC) def. #14 Andrews/Broomfield (UCLA) 6-0
2. #5 Jones/Morra (UNC) def. #15 Bolton/Hart (UCLA) 7-6(7)
3. Altick/Johnson (UCLA) def. Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) 6-4
Match Notes:
UCLA 5-1; National ranking #8
North Carolina 8-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,2,5,3)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Players Mentioned
