College Feature
North Carolina Completes Three-Peat at ITA National Indoors
by Rhiannon Potkey, 15 February 2022
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North Carolina completed a three-peat at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
Making their eighth straight appearance in the title match, the No. 2 Tar Heels rallied to beat No. 8 Oklahoma 4-2 on Monday at Wisconsin’s Nielson Center in Madison.
The Tar Heels Won Their Third Straight Indoors Title
© UNC Athletics
UNC (11-0) joins Stanford as the only programs to win three straight ITA Indoor titles. Stanford won three of its record 10 titles between 2004-06. The Tar Heels have won four titles in the last five years and six in the last 10 years.
Oklahoma (11-1) was making its first appearance at the ITA National Indoors in program history. The Sooners earned their trip by recording their first top 10 win in program history with a victory over No. 6 Duke at the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
The Sooners jumped on top of UNC early in the title match by winning the doubles point for the fourth day in a row. Sisters Ivana and Carmen Corley defeated the top-ranked team in the nation, Fiona Crawley and Elizabeth Scotty, 6-3, at the top court.
OU’s Layne Sleeth and Alexandra Pisareva secured their highest-ranked doubles win of the season by beating No. 21 Cameron Morra and Carson Tanguilig 6-2 at the No. 2 spot.
The Sooners carried the momentum into singles, winning four of the first six sets before the Tar Heels mounted their comeback.
UNC’s Elizabeth Scotty knotted the score at 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-1, victory over Carmen Corley. Fiona Crawley gave the Tar Heels their first lead with a 6-4, 6-4, win over Anchisa Chanta.
Oklahoma took its final point to even the match 2-2 when Ivana Corley beat Reilly Tran 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Carson Tanguilig put UNC ahead for good by beating Sasha Pisareva 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, and junior Anika Yarlagadda clinched the title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Emma Staker.
On its run to the championship match, OU took out host Wisconsin and upset No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Pepperdine. The Sooners had never beaten the nation’s top-ranked team until their victory over the Longhorns.
"While this was a huge weekend for this program, it was not a surprise to our team," said Oklahoma head coach Audra Cohen. "We know our team has the tennis level and energy to take down the top teams. We will reflect on things we can do to improve and get back to work. There is a lot more to come from these Sooners."
No. 2 North Carolina 4, No. 8 Oklahoma 2
Singles
No. 1 — #4 Cameron Morra (UNC) vs. #15 Layne Sleeth (OU) 2-6, 6-1, 1-5, unfinished
No. 2 — #27 Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) def. #35 Carmen Corley (OU) 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 — #57 Ivana Corley (OU) def. #7 Reilly Tran (UNC) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
No. 4 — #19 Fiona Crawley (UNC) def. #88 Anchisa Chanta (OU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 — #14 Carson Tanguilig (UNC) def. Sasha Pisareva (OU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 — #74 Anika Yarlagadda (UNC) def. #103 Emma Staker (OU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3, 5, 6
Doubles
No. 1 — #11 Corley/Corley (OU) def. #1 Fiona Crawley/Elizabeth Scotty (UNC) 6-3
No. 2 — #47 Sleeth/Pisareva (OU) def. #21 Cameron Morra/Carson Tanguilig (UNC) 6-2
No. 3 — #26 Alle Sanford/Reilly Tran (UNC) vs. Chanta/Staker (OU) 3-5, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2
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About Rhiannon Potkey
Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two
decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many
sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories.
Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national
events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches.
Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You
can reach Rhiannon by email at
[email protected].
