Georgia Tech Women Sting #4 North Carolina, Columbia Roars Past Cornell, UCF Upsets USF, Peter Smith Wins #600

After watching a top 10 men’s showdown on Friday night in Winston-Salem, I took in a top 10 women’s showdown on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill. Fourth-ranked North Carolina hadn’t dropped a regular season conference match in three years and was riding a 50-match home court winning streak but both of those streaks would come to an end courtesy of tenth-ranked Georgia Tech. North Carolina was playing without Alexa Graham (#4S/#2D) who was out with an illness so they had to change one doubles pairing and move everyone in the lower half of the singles lineup forward one spot. 

North Carolina’s Hayley Carter and Jessie Aney jumped out to an early break lead at No. 1 doubles and would add another to win 6-2. Georgia Tech’s Kenya Jones and Paige Hourigan followed a similar path at No. 2 doubles and also won 6-2. The point would be decided at No. 3 between Georgia Tech’s Nami Otsuka/Luca Fabian and North Carolina’s Sara Daavettila/Rachael James-Baker. Georgia Tech won three of the first four games to go up 3-1 but North Carolina broke and held for 3-3. A few games later Georgia Tech held for 5-4 and then they broke UNC from 15/40, via a double fault, to take the match 6-4.  

Five of the six first sets went pretty quickly with North Carolina’s Hayley Carter and Sara Daavettila taking 6-2 sets at No. 1 and No. 2 while Georgia Tech’s Kenya Jones, Nami Otsuka, and Luca Fabian took 6-3, 6-1, and 6-2 sets at No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6. Over at No. 3 singles, North Carolina freshman Jessie Aney would fight off a set point while serving at 4-5 (40/40) and ultimately she’d take the opening set in a tiebreak by a 7-5 score. 

Georgia Tech freshman Nami Otsuka put the Jackets ahead 2-0 with a quick 6-1, 6-2 win over Chloe Ouellet-Pizer at No. 5 in a match that took just 55 minutes. North Carolina trimmed the deficit to 2-1 when freshman Sara Davettilla cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Johnnise Renaud at No. 2.

North Carolina senior Hayley Carter tied the match at 2-2 with a gutsy straight set win over Rasheeda McAdoo at No. 1. Carter was already playing with a heavy heart after her losing father earlier in the week and then after going up 3-1 in the first set she had to take a medical timeout due to an injury in her upper thigh. After getting her thigh wrapped her mobility was severely limited but she still managed to keep winning games. Carter would break McAdoo for 5-2 in the first and then she came back from 15/40 down to take the set 6-2. In the second set Carter broke for 4-3 and then fought off two break points to hold for 5-3. After a McAdoo hold, Carter served out the match to win it 6-2, 6-4. 

North Carolina seemed to be picking up some momentum because Jessie Aney was up 7-6, 3-0 at No. 3 plus Cassandra Vazquez had just split sets at No. 6. The one remaining spot where North Carolina couldn’t make any headway was at No. 4. Georgia Tech’s Kenya Jones won the first set 6-3 then she broke UNC’s Makenna Jones to go up 4-3 in the second. After an exchange of holds, Kenya served it out put Georgia Tech back in front 3-2.

Jessie Aney would tie it back up at 3-3 after serving out the match from 40/30 to defeat Paige Hourigan 7-6 (5), 6-3. The remaining 50 or so fans headed down to the other set of three courts to watch the rest of the third set at No. 6. 

The momentum that Cassandra Vazquez had gained after winning the second set quickly evaporated as Georgia Tech freshman Luca Fabian went up a break to start the third set. Fabian did a nice job holding her serve and then she’d added a second break to go up 5-2. Fabian would serve it out on the no-ad point to give Georgia Tech its first win over UNC since 2010. Below is match point and below that are some highlights from singles that I shot during the match.

#10 Georgia Tech 4, #4 North Carolina 3
Apr 01, 2017 at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #2 Hayley Carter (NC) def. #46 Rasheeda McAdoo (GT) 6-2, 6-4
2. #9 Sara Daavettila (NC) def. #104 Johnnise Renaud (GT) 6-2, 6-2
3. #23 Jessie Aney (NC) def. #113 Paige Hourigan (GT) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
4. Kenya Jones (GT) def. #40 Makenna Jones (NC) 6-3, 6-4
5. Nami Otsuka (GT) def. #77 Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (NC) 6-1, 6-2
6. Luca Fabian (GT) def. Cassandra Vazquez (NC) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #1 Hayley Carter/Jessie Aney (NC) def. #19 Rasheeda McAdoo/Johnnise Renaud (GT) 6-2
2. Kenya Jones/Paige Hourigan (GT) def. Cassandra Vazquez/Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (NC) 6-2
3. Nami Otsuka/Luca Fabian (GT) def. Sara Daavettila/Rachael James-Baker (NC) 6-4
Match Notes
Georgia Tech 18-2, 8-0; National ranking #10
North Carolina 20-2, 7-1; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,2,1,4,3,6)
T-2:37 A-157

Post-Match Quote from GT’s recap
“It was a great team victory today! Our freshmen came up huge in singles and doubles. We have to prepare for a tough match tomorrow against Wake Forest.” – Head Coach Rodney Harmon

In the first top 25 regular season Ivy League matchup in over 40 years it was the No. 25 Columbia defeated No. 20 Cornell 4-1. In doubles, Columbia struck first by going up breaks at No. 1 and No. 3 while Cornell went up a break at No. 2. After Cornell’s Bernardo Casares and Chris Vrabel went up 2-0 at No. 2, Columbia’s Shawn Hadavi and Jackie Tang held and broke to even it at 2-2. After another series of holds, Hadavi and Tang would break for 5-3 and then serve it out 6-3.

Columbia’s Christopher Grant and Michal Rolski opened up a 3-0* lead to start the match at No. 3 but Cornell’s Lev Kazakov and Al Hill held, broke, and held to tie it at 3-3. Columbia held for 4-3, broke on the no-ad point for 5-3, and then Grant served it out for a 6-3 win to secure the doubles point. The match at No. 1 went unfinished with Columbia’s Richard and Victor Pham leading 5-3*.

Columbia kept pressing in singles and took four opening sets and in just over an hour it’d be 2-0 after senior Shawn Hadavi closed out David Volfson 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1.  

Columbia sophomore Victor Pham extended the lead to 3-0 with a straight set win over Colin Sinclair at No. 2. The opening set started off with 10 straight holds but then Pham broke on the no-ad point after a long baseline rally ended with Sinclair missing just long. Pham would then come back from 0/30 down to hold and close out the set 7-5. In the second set, Pham broke for 3-2 and then after another break for 5-2 he’d serve it out and win 7-5, 6-2. 

Cornell would get on the board when freshman Pedro Rimondini defeated William Matheson in straight sets at No. 5. Matheson broke for 5-4 in the first set but Rimondini would break back from 15/40 to tie it back up at 5-5. Rimondini held for 6-5 and then he broke Matheson on the no-ad point, after Matheson had led 40/15, to take the opening set 7-5. The second set stayed on serve until Rimondini broke for 4-2 and then a few games later he served it out to win 7-5, 6-3. 

Both of the matches at No. 3 and No. 4 were early in the third but Columbia sophomore Timothy Wang was starting to pull away from Bernardo Casares Rosa at No. 6. Casares Rosa actually served for the first set up 5-4, after he broke Wang on the no-ad point with a volley winner, but Wang would break back to even it at 5-5. Wang held on the no-ad point for 6-5, after playing some great defense which eventually forced a Casares Rosa miss, and then he held on the no-ad point with a backhand pass to take the set 7-5. Wang was in total control of the second set as he quickly went up 4-0 and then he held on the no-ad point for 5-0 after Casares Rosa mishit a pretty slow second serve. Wang would break Casares Rosa on the no-ad point, via a double fault, to clinch the match with a 7-5, 6-0 win. 

Post-Match Quotes:

Columbia Head Coach Bid Goswami: “This was the first time in four years that we played as the underdog in an Ivy League match, so it was a different feeling for all of the guys. Even though we beat them in February in the ECAC finals, we knew they are a very good team. They beat Oklahoma and they have had us in their sights for a couple years. Our guys competed very well and I was happy with how we came out of the gate in doubles. We are very young in singles and it’s amazing to think that two of our points there came from Victor [Pham] and Tim [Wang], guys who we consider seasoned veterans but are only sophomores. Shawn [Hadavi], our only senior in singles, was simply outstanding against his opponent for the second time in six weeks. The boys know they can enjoy this for a day or so, but then it’s back to work to prepare for Penn on Friday and Princeton on Sunday.”

Columbia Associate Head Coach Howard Endelman: “Great match from Tim Wang for the clinch at #6. Their first set could not have been closer. The deuce points at 5-5 and 5-6 were the difference. Happy for our guys for a tough win against an excellent Cornell team.”

. 

UCF may have locked up its bid to the NCAA Tournament after upsetting No. 26 South Florida 4-2. South Florida jumped out to a 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point but UCF came back and took four first sets in singles. South Florida’s Peter Bertran made it 2-0 with a straight set win at No. 4 but UCF picked up wins from Danny Kerznerman, iChris Barrus, and Kalman Boyd to go in front 3-2. 

South Florida’s Sasha Gozun led 3-1 in the third at No. 1 but UCF’s Korey Lovett would break and hold for 3-3. It stayed on serve until Gozun’s 5-5 service game which saw Gozun double fault three times in a row to go down 0/40. Gozun got it back to 30/40 but Lovett got the break to go up 6-5. Lovett would serve it out from 40/15 to give UCF its first win over South Florida in seven years.

If you want to see how high UCF jumped in my real-time ITA rankings click here (must be a CTT subscriber – only $.33 a day – try it out!)

Post-Match Quote from UCF’s recap
“I am very proud of this team’s effort tonight against USF,” head coach John Roddick said. “I know this win means a ton for our seniors and I couldn’t be happier for them.”

Post-Match Quote from USF’s recap
“Disappointing loss in the sense that we put ourselves in a position to win the match and just weren’t able to execute. I believe we will come away from this loss a better team as it’s a wake up call that we need to play aggressively in big moments. We look forward to playing ucf again in the conference championships in two weeks” – Head Coach Ashley Fisher on the loss…

#5 USC 6, #32 Washington 1
April 1, 2017 at Los Angeles, Calif (Marks Tennis Stadium)
Doubles competition
1 – No. 22 Holt/R. Smith (USC) def. Douglas/Foley (UW) 6-2
2 – Crystal/Verboven (USC) def. Lam/Sommer (UW) 6-3
3 – Batta/Watanabe (UW) vs. Bellamy/Jaede (USC) 5-3 (DNF)
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles competition
1 – No. 21 Brandon Holt (USC) def. No. 89 Mitch Stewart (UW) 6-1, 6-0
2 – Nick Crystal (USC) def. Enzo Sommer (UW) 6-1, 6-4
3 – Jake Douglas (UW) def. No. 47 Logan Smith (USC) 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-7)
4 – Jack Jaede (USC) def. Gal Hakak (UW) 6-2, 6-4
5 – Thibault Forget (USC) def. Amit Batta (UW) 6-3, 6-3
6 – Riley Smith (USC) def. Piers Foley (UW) 6-3, 7-6 (3)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 4, 5, 6, 3

Post-Match Quote from UW’s recap
“USC was very solid from top to bottom,” said head coach Matt Anger. “This was the first time we lost that many singles matches in one day, we didn’t necessarily play our best.”

#24 Kentucky 4, #12 Florida 1
April 1, 2017 – Boone Tennis Complex – Lexington, Ky.
Singles Competition (Order of Finish: 3-2-1-4)
1 – #17 Will Bushamuka (UK) def. #7 Alfredo Perez (UF) 7-5, 6-0
2 – #106 Elliott Orkin (UF) def. #24 Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) 6-1, 6-3
3 – Beck Pennington (UK) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-3, 6-1
4 – #113 Nils Ellefsen (UK) def. Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
5 – Trey Yates (UK) vs. Maxx Lipman (UF) 3-6, 3-2, unfinished
6 – Enzo Wallart (UK) vs. Joseph Guillin (UF) 6-4, 1-0, unfinished
Doubles Competition (Order of Finish: 2-3-1)
1 – #27 Beck Pennington/Enzo Wallart (UK) def. #6 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 7-6 (7-4)
2 – Elliott Orkin/Maxx Lipman (UF) def. #77 Will Bushamuka/Nils Ellefsen (UK) 6-3
3 – Gus Benson/Trey Yates (UK) def. Joshua Wardell/Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-3

Post-Match Quotes from UK’s recap
“Was a really good team win,” said head coach Cedric Kauffmann. “We have had some really close matches this year against the best teams in the country. Have had chances in all the matches we lost except one. We are starting to believe and that is powerful. It was a great win today.”

Post-Match Quote from UF’s recap
“Kentucky played very well today. I didn’t have our guys prepared to play inside today. They were in a tough situation and I have to be better. This loss is on me.” – head coach Bryan Shelton

#10 UCLA 4, #23 Oregon 3
Apr 01, 2017 at Los Angeles, CA (Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts)
Singles competition
1. #40 Thomas Laurent (UO) def. #11 Gage Brymer (UCLA) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-1
2. #39 Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. Simon Stevens (UO) 6-1, 7-5
3. Akihiro Tanaka (UO) def. Evan Zhu (UCLA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Logan Staggs (UCLA) def. Jayson Amos (UO) 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
5. Austin Rapp (UCLA) def. Cormac Clissold (UO) 6-1, 6-3
6. Ty Gentry (UO) def. Maxime Cressy (UCLA) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #15 Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA) def. Armando Soemarno/Jayson Amos (UO) 6-4
2. Gage Brymer/Austin Rapp (UCLA) def. Thomas Laurent/Cormac Clissold (UO) 6-3
3. Ben Goldberg/Maxime Cressy (UCLA) vs. Simon Stevens/Akihiro Tanaka (UO) 5-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Oregon 14-4; National ranking #23
UCLA 13-4; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,2,3,6,1,4) 

#21 South Carolina 4, Alabama 3
Apr 01, 2017 at Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Alabama Tennis Stadium)
Singles competition
1. #35 Mazen Osama (UA) def. #59 Gabriel Friedrich (USC) 7-6, 6-0
2. #88 Harrison O’Keefe (USC) def. #105 Thibault Cancel (UA) 6-1, 6-1
3. Alexey Nesterov (UA) def. Andrew Schafer (USC) 7-5, 7-5
4. Yancy Dennis (USC) def. Spencer Richey (UA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Paul Jubb (USC) def. Zhe Zhou (UA) 7-6, 7-6
6. Alex Fennell (USC) def. Ritchie Kruunenberg (UA) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #40 Mazen Osama/Spencer Richey (UA) def. #47 Yancy Dennis/Harrison O’Keefe (USC) 7-5
2. Alex Fennell/Sam Swank (USC) def. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-4
3. Zhe Zhou/Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (USC) 6-4
Match Notes:
South Carolina 17-4, 6-2 SEC; National ranking
#21 Alabama 8-14, 1-8 SEC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,6,1,3,4,5)