SAN DIEGO – Three of North Carolina’s four singles competitors picked up victories on Wednesday in the first round of the 2022 ITA Fall National Championships from Barnes Tennis Center. No. 1 seed Fiona Crawley, No. 3 seed Abbey Forbes and Carson Tanguilig all won in straight sets, while Anika Yarlagadda came up short in a three-set battle.
Crawley cruised past Tennessee’s Daria Kuczer in her opening match, 6-2, 6-3, while Forbes took out No. 74 Malaika Rapolu of Texas, 6-2, 7-5.
Tanguilig topped Mississippi’s Lillian Gabrielsen, 6-3, 6-0.
Yarlagadda won the opening set against Georgia Tech’s 16th ranked Carol Lee, and nearly was a winner in straight sets, but the Yellow Jacket standout rallied to win sets two and three to capture the match, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-4.
In doubles, No. 2 seed Crawley and Tanguilig dispatched Arizona State’s Patricia Spaka and Domenika Turkoois, 7-5, 6-4.
The three that advanced in the main draw continue on their quest to add their name to an impressive list of previous winners from Carolina’s program. Jamie Loeb was the first to win the singles championship back in 2013 and was later joined in consecutive seasons by title winners Sara Daavettila in 2019 and Alexa Graham in 2020.
Hayley Carter and Whitney Kay won the doubles event in 2015 and last fall Crawley and Elizabeth Scotty brought the trophy back to Chapel Hill in 2021.
Action continues with Round of 16 matches on Thursday with singles scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
All of the action from the 2022 ITA Fall National Championships will be streamed on the Cracked Racquets YouTube Page. Links to the live streams can be found on the Event Page.
ITA Fall National Championships
Singles Main Draw
Round of 32 – Wednesday, Nov. 2
[1] #21 Fiona Crawley (UNC) def. Daria Kuczer (TENN) 6-2, 6-3
[5-8] #16 Carol Lee (GT) def. Anika Yarlagadda (UNC) 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-4
[3] #15 Abby Forbes (UCLA) def. #74 Malaika Rapolu (Texas) 6-2, 7-5
[5-8] #28 Carson Tanguilig (UNC) def. Lillian Gabrielsen (MISS) 6-3, 6-0
Round of 16 – Thursday, Nov. 3
[1] #21 Fiona Crawley (UNC) vs. Taylor Melville (Denver), 1 p.m.
[3] #15 Abby Forbes (UCLA) vs. Sydni Ratliff (OSU), 1 p.m.
[5-8] #28 Carson Tanguilig (UNC) vs. Deniz Khazan (BAY), 1 p.m.
Singles Consolation
Round of 16 – Thursday, Nov. 3
Anika Yarlagadda (UNC) def. Cameron Morra (Duke) W/O, injury
Doubles Main…
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