North Carolina Beats Pepperdine to Claim ITA Division I Women's Team Indoor; Hohmann and Crowley Capture Titles at USTA Level 2 in Lake Nona

Your 2018 DI Women's #ITAIndoors champions @UNC_wtennis!@GoHeels pic.twitter.com/6YlTJwjGFI

— ITA Tennis (@ITA_Tennis) February 12, 2018

North Carolina's past two appearances in the ITA Women's Team Indoor Championships had ended in losses, but today the Tar Heels claimed the title, beating Pepperdine 4-2.

None of the North Carolina players on court today had been on the 2015 team that won the title over Georgia, so they had some motivation to avoid a third strike.  North Carolina never trailed in the match, taking the doubles point, but Pepperdine tied it with freshman Evgeniya Levashova, who was ranked as high as 12 in the ITF junior rankings, beating Makenna Jones at No. 3.  Jones, who had played at line 2 in the first round and quarterfinals, switched with Sara Daavettila in the semifinals and today, and Jesse Aney, who went on to clinch the match, switched positions with Alexa Graham, who was at line 5 in the first two rounds.  Jones was the only player in the switch that did not get a win; Pepperdine got its two victories from Ashley Lahey at line 1 and Levashova.

North Carolina will undoubtedly move to No. 1 in this week's rankings, and will become the favorite to win the NCAAs in May, but the many close matches during this tournament suggest another exciting conference season to come.  And with injuries always looming as a disruption to a team's momentum and improvement throughout the season, it's best to enjoy the title before looking ahead.

For more on North Carolina's victory, see the ITA recap and the North Carolina recap.

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No. 3 North Carolina 4, No. 4 Pepperdine 2

Singles

1. #27 Ashley Lahey (Pepp) def. #6 Alle Sanford (UNC) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
2. #52 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def.. #20 Mayar Sherif Ahmed (Pepp) 7-5, 6-2
3. Evgeniya Levashova (Pepp) def. #10 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-0, 6-2
4. #78 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #75 Laure Gulbe (Pepp) 6-4, 6-3
5.#21 Jessie Aney (UNC) def. #82 Dzina Milovanovic (Pepp) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
6. Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (UNC) vs. Adrijana Lekaj (Pepp) 0-6, 7-6 (5), 2-3, unfinished

Order of Finish: 3, 4, 2, 1, 5

Doubles

1. #30 Aney/Graham (UNC) def. #5 Lahey/Sherif Ahmed (Pepp) 7-5
2. Levashova/Milovanovic (Pepp) def. #20 Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) 6-2
3. Marika Akkerman/Jones (UNC) def. Lekaj/Gulbe (Pepp) 6-2

Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

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I again spent the day at the USTA's Lake Nona National Campus for the finals of the USTA 18s Level 2 tournament.  I will have a complete recap, with comments from all four singles finalists, for the Tennis Recruiting Network on Friday.

In the boys final, No.8 seed Ron Hohmann defeated No. 3 seed Henry Cacciatore 6-2, 6-4 and in the girls final, No. 3 seed Briana Crowley defeated No. 4 seed Alana Wolfberg 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

Top seeds Robert Cash and JJ Mercer won the boys doubles title, beating Juan Bianchi and Tyler Stice 6-4 in the final.  Unseeded Ruth Marsh and Ava Hrastar won the girls doubles title, beating top seeds Clarissa and Christina Hand 6-3 in the final.