Unseeded Duke Wins Thriller to Reach Women's NCAA Division I Team Quarterfinals, Men's Round of 16 Monday; Volynets Captures First Pro Title at Bonita Springs $100K; Khan Wins Another $15K Title

It took twelve hours, but that last-match-on, all-eyes-on-one-court scenario that makes college tennis so much fun finally did appear Sunday night at the USTA National Campus, with unseeded Duke defeating No. 9 seed Central Florida 4-3 in the NCAA Division I National Team championships round of 16.

Duke took a close doubles point, with wins at lines 1 and 3, while UCF won at 2.

The Blue Devils, who beat No. 8 seed Baylor 4-3 on the road in the regional final in Waco, were again facing a home team, with the Knights the official hosts of this year's NCAA Championships. Central Florida took four first sets in singles, so Duke needed a split somewhere. They got it with Bilokin forcing a third set at line 5, but UCF's Jaleesa Leslie recovered to take the third set 6-1, and Duke's 3-0 lead (doubles point and straight-sets wins from Meible Chi at 4 and Georgia Drummy at 2) had disappeared. Leslie, Valeriya Zeleva at line 1 and Nandini Sharma at 6 earned UCF's three points, but the fourth would not come for a while, with Duke's Chloe Beck finishing off her second set against Evgeniya Levashova as Leslie tied it up.

Beck served first in the final set, and she stayed ahead, getting the first break with Levashova serving at 2-3, it was but five breaks of serve later, after Beck had failed to serve out the match at 5-3, before she finally ended it. Beck missed her first chance to finish it at 15-40, but she snuck a devastating pass by Levashova to send her team to a second meeting with conference rival North Carolina. UNC won their conference match 6-1 this spring.

The Tar Heels had no difficulty against No. 16 Cal, with that 4-0 decision giving North Carolina its 47th consecutive win. 

Lea Ma's Georgia teammates rush the court after her win
(photo credit: Manuela Davies/USTA)

During the day, I followed along (with three screens) the best I could, but the mobile app TennisONE, which is providing coverage, doesn't work properly on my computer, so I was watching on a much smaller screen than I would have liked. The match I was particularly interested in was between No. 14 seed Virginia and No. 3 Georgia, and even when the Bulldogs, who are outstanding in doubles and have dropped that point only twice all year, went up 1-0, Virginia refused to be intimidated. Each team won three first sets in singles, but Virginia had its chances, with Amber O'Dell having three set points against Marta Gonzalez at line 5 before Gonzalez took it in a tiebreaker. Sofia Munera served for the match at line 6 at 6-4, 5-3, but lost a tiebreaker to Elena Christofi, and they didn't finish their match.

The highly anticipated No. 1 singles match didn't disappoint, with the Cavaliers Emma Navarro regularly falling behind against 2019 NCAA singles finalist Katarina Jokic, but fighting back each time. Jokic served for the match at 6-4, 5-3, but couldn't close it out, with the freshman forcing a third set.  At line 2, Lea Ma earned a split in her match with Natasha Subhash, and it was Ma that finally earned that elusive fourth point, with a solid third-set tiebreaker. Jokic had been broken serving at 5-2 in the third, but thanks to teammate Ma she did not have to try to close out Navarro a third time.

No. 6 seed NC State looked to be rolling over surprise regional winner USC, but the Trojans managed to force third sets before the Wolfpack finished the job. NC State, into its first NCAA quarterfinal in program history, will play Georgia on Wednesday.

No. 7 seed Florida State struggled at the top of the lineup, but managed a tight 4-2 victory over No. 10 seed Texas A&M. The Seminoles will take on No. 2 seed Texas, who looked sharp in the doubles action and got straight-sets wins from the middle of their lineup for a 4-1 win over No. 15 Ohio State.

The 4 p.m. matches were the quickest of the day, with No. 5 seed Pepperdine rolling past Michigan and No. 4 seed UCLA blanking No. 13 seed Georgia Tech to set up the fourth meeting of the year between the two Southern Californian rivals. UCLA leads 2-1, having won in February and April, with the Waves taking the match in March.

BOX SCORES:

NC State 4,  USC 1 

Doubles

1. #12 Alana Smith/Anna Rogers (ST) def. Eryn Cayetano/Angela Kulikov (USC) 6-1

2. #5 Jaeda Daniel/Adriana Reami (ST) def. Clare McKee/Salma Ewing (USC) 6-1 

3. #42 Abigail Rencheli/Amelia Rajecki (ST) vs. Danielle Willson/Summer Dvorak (USC) 3-2, unfinished 

Singles

1. #42 Salma Ewing (USC) def. #6 Anna Rogers (ST) 6-4, 6-2 

2. #23 Alana Smith (ST) vs. #98 Eryn Cayetano (USC) 7-6(5), 4-5, unfinished 

3. Adriana Reami (ST) def. Danielle Willson (USC) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 

4. Jaeda Daniel (ST) def. Summer Dvorak (USC) 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 

5. #82 Abigail Rencheli (ST) def. Constance Branstine (USC) 6-1, 6-3 

6. Lexi Keberle (ST) vs. Clare McKee (USC) 6-4, 5-7, unfinished 

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,1,4,3) 

Match Notes: 

USC 13-11; National ranking #35 

NC State Wolfpack 19-5; National ranking #6 

NC State - #6 National Seed 

T-2:27 

Georgia 4, Virginia 1 

Doubles

1. #6 Katarina Jokic/Ariana Arseneault (UGA) def. #21 Rosie Johanson/Emma Navarro (VA) 6-4 

2. Elena Christofi/Morgan Coppoc (UGA) def. #17 Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (VA) 6-2 

3. Vivian Glozman/Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Lea Ma/Meg Kowalski (UGA) 6-2 

Singles

1. #4 Katarina Jokic (UGA) vs. #3 Emma Navarro (VA) 6-4, 5-7, 5-3, unfinished 

2. #55 Lea Ma (UGA) def. #9 Natasha Subhash (VA) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) 

3. #20 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. #90 Rosie Johanson (VA) 6-3, 6-3 

4. Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. #68 Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 

5. #52 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) def. Amber O'Dell (VA) 7-6(4), 6-3 

6. Elena Christofi (UGA) vs. Sofia Munera (VA) 4-6, 7-6(3), 5-4, unfinished 

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,5,4,2) 

Match Notes: 

Virginia 16-7; National ranking #13 

Georgia 22-1; National ranking #3 

Georgia - #3 National Seed, Virginia - #14 National Seed 

T-3:30

Florida State University 4, Texas A&M 2 

Doubles

1. #30 Emmanuelle Salas/Victoria Allen (FS) def. #20 Jayci Goldsmith/Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) 7-5

2. #8 Nandini Das/Andrea Garcia (FS) vs. Dorthea Faa-Hviding/Renee McBryde (TAMU) 6-5, unfinished 

3. #89 Giulia Pairone/Petra Hule (FS) def. Katya Townsend/Riley McQuaid (TAMU) 6-2 

Singles 

1. #25 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #12 Giulia Pairone (FS) 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 

2. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #44 Emmanuelle Salas (FS) 6-0, 6-3

3. Nandini Das (FS) def. Katya Townsend (TAMU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1

4. Petra Hule (FS) def. Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 

5. Victoria Allen (FS) def. Renee McBryde (TAMU) 6-2, 6-2

6. Andrea Garcia (FS) vs. Riley McQuaid (TAMU) 7-5, 3-6, 2-3, unfinished 

 Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,5,1,3,4)

Match Notes:

Texas A&M 21-8; National ranking #10

Florida State University 19-5; National ranking #7 

FSU - #7 National Seed, TAMU - #10 National Seed 

T-3:13 

Texas 4, Ohio State 1 

Doubles
1. #19 Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT) def. #52 Kolie Allen/Isabelle Boulais (OSU) 6-0 

2. Fernanda Labrana/Anna Turati (UT) vs. Lisa Hofbauer/Lucia Marzal (OSU) 4-5, unfinished 

3. #47 Charlotte Chavatipon/Peyton Stearns (UT) def. #80 Irina Cantos Siemers/Luna Dormet (OSU) 6-3 

Singles

1. #18 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. #37 Peyton Stearns (UT) 6-2, 6-0 

2. #35 Anna Turati (UT) def. Isabelle Boulais (OSU) 6-1, 7-5 

3. #62 Lulu Sun (UT) def. Kolie Allen (OSU) 6-1, 6-1 

4. #76 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Lisa Hofbauer (OSU) 6-1, 6-4 

5. #72 Kylie Collins (UT) vs. Lucia Marzal (OSU) 6-2, 4-6, 2-2, unfinished 

6. Malaika Rapolu (UT) vs. Luna Dormet (OSU) 6-7(6), 6-1, unfinished 

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,1,4,2) 

Match Notes: 

Ohio State 23-4; National ranking #16 

Texas 28-1; National ranking #2 

Texas - #2 National Seed, Ohio State - #15 National Seed 

T-2:25

Pepperdine 4, Michigan 0

Doubles

1. Lisa Zaar/Ashley Lahey(PEPP) def. Alyvia Jones/Jaedan Brown (MICH) 6-2

2. Taisiya Pachkaleva/Shiori Fukuda (PEPP) vs. Kari Miller/Chiara Lommer (MICH) 4-3, unfinished

3. Jessica Faillia/Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) def. Bella Lorenzini/Andrea Cerdan (MICH) 6-4

Singles

1. #77 Ashley Lahey(PEPP) vs. #57 Kari Miller (MICH) 6-4, 3-4, unfinished 

2. #21 Jessica Failla(PEPP) def. Chiara Lommer (MICH) 6-1, 6-3
3. #89 Taisiya Pachkaleva(PEPP) def. Andrea Cerdan (MICH) 6-0, 6-3
4. #118 Shiori Fukuda(PEPP) def. Jaedan Brown (MICH) 6-4, 6-1 

5. Lisa Zarr(PEPP) vs. Alyvia Jones (MICH) 4-6, 1-5, unfinished
6. Nikki Redelijk (PEPP) vs. Bella Lorenzini (MICH) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished 

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,4,2) 

Match Notes: 

Michigan 19-4; National ranking #20 

PEPP 23-3; National ranking #5  

Pepperdine - #5 National Seed

#4 UCLA 4, #11 Georgia Tech 0 

Doubles

1. Abbey Forbes/Jada Hart (UCLA) vs. #3 Victoria Flores/Kenya Jones (GT) 5-3, unfinished 

2. Vivian Wolff/Annette Goulak (UCLA) def. #16 Ava Hrastar/Gia Cohen (GT) 6-1 

3. Abi Altick/Elysia Bolton (UCLA) def. Monika Dedaj/Carol Lee (GT) 6-3 

Singles

1. #7 Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. #5 Kenya Jones (GT) 6-3, 6-1 

2. #50 Jada Hart (UCLA) vs. #13 Victoria Flores (GT) 3-6, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished 

3. Elysia Bolton (UCLA) def. Gia Cohen (GT) 6-4, 6-4 

4. Vivian Wolff (UCLA) vs. #100 Ava Hrastar (GT) 7-6(6), 3-2, unfinished 

5. Vanessa Ong (UCLA) vs. Carol Lee (GT) 2-6, 3-4, unfinished 

6. Annette Goulak (UCLA) def. Mahak Jain (GT) 6-0, 6-1 

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,1,3) 

Match Notes: 

Georgia Tech 20-11; National ranking #11 

UCLA 22-4; National ranking #4 

UCLA - #4 National Seed, Georgia Tech - #13 National Seed

North Carolina 4, California 0

Doubles 

1. #2 Cameron Morra/Sara Daavettila (NC) def. Valentina Ivanov/Haley Giavara (CAL) 6-2

2. #4 Makenna Jones/Elizabeth Scotty (NC) vs. Hannah Vill. Moeller/Anna Bright (CAL) 5-2, unfinished

3. #34 Reilly Tran/Alle Sanford (NC) def. Jada Bui/Erin Richardson (CAL) 6-2

Singles

1. #2 Sara Daavettila (NC) def. #31 Haley Giavara (CAL) 6-4, 6-3

2. #41 Alexa Graham (NC) vs. Julia Rosenqvist (CAL) 6-2, 6-6 (0-3), unfinished

3. #27 Cameron Morra (NC) vs. Valentina Ivanov (CAL) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0, unfinished

4. #97 Elizabeth Scotty (NC) def. Jada Bui (CAL) 6-2, 7-5

5. #36 Fiona Crawley (NC) def. Hannah Vill. Moeller (CAL) 6-2, 6-3

6. #117 Reilly Tran (NC) vs. Anna Bright (CAL) 6-2, 6-5, unfinished

Match Notes:

California 19-7; National ranking #17

North Carolina 29-0; National ranking #1

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,5,4)

UNC - #1 National Seed, CAL - #16 National Seed

Duke 4, Central Florida 3

1. Meible Chi/Margaryta Bilokin(DUKE) d. Rebeka Stolmar/Marie Mattel(UCF) 6-3

2, Ksenia Kuznetsova/Valeriya Zeleva(UCF) d. Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova(DUKE) 6-3

3. Kelly Chen/Georgia Drummy(DUKE) d. Nadja Bay Christians/Evgeniya Levashova(UCF) 6-4

1. Valeriya Zeleva(UCF) d. Kelly Chen(DUKE) 6-4, 6-2

2. Georgia Drummy(DUKE) d. Rebka Stolmar(UCF) 6-4, 6-4

3. Chloe Beck(DUKE) d. Evgeniya Levashova(UCF) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 

4. Meible Chi(DUKE) d. Ksenia Kuznetsova(UCF) 6-2, 6-3

5. Jaleesa Leslie(UCF) d.  Margaryta Bilokin(DUKE)  6-2, 1-6, 6-1

6. Nandini Sharma(UCF) d. Karolina Berankova(DUKE) 6-1, 7-5

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,2,1,6,5,3)

The men's round of 16 matches will begin Monday at 10 a.m. See the tournament website for links to streaming and live scoring.

Florida[1] v Illinois[16] (7 PM)
Mississippi State v Texas A&M[8] (7 PM)
Virginia[5] v Southern Cal[12] (4 PM)
South Carolina[13] v Texas[4] (4 PM)

Tennessee[3] v Arizona (10 AM)
Georgia[11] v North Carolina[6] (10 AM)
TCU[7] v Ohio State (1 PM)
Mississippi[15] v Baylor[2] (1 PM)

I'll be concentrating on college tennis throughout the NCAAs, so the pro updates will be brief, but congratulations are in order for Katie Volynets, who won her first professional tournament today at the $100,000 USTA Women's Pro Circuit event in Bonita Springs Florida. The 19-year-old wild card outlasted WTA No. 133 and No. 5 seed Irina Bara of Romania 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-1 in 3 hours and 14 minutes.  With the title, Volynets has moved from 299 to 200 in the WTA rankings, and should be in good position for Wimbledon qualifying.

In the doubles, unseeded Erin Routliffe(Alabama) of New Zealand and Aldila Sutjiadi(Kentucky) of Indonesia defeated No. 3 seeds Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato of Japan 6-3, 4-6, 10-6.

Nineteen-year-old Zane Khan won his third ITF World Tennis Tour men's $15,000 event today in Israel. Khan, the No. 5 seed, defeated top seed Edan Leshem of Israel 6-3, 6-4 in the final. All three of Khan's titles have come since the first of March.