CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- No. 3 North Carolina picked up a 4-1 victory against Memphis on Sunday during the final day of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend from Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
Carolina will defend its ITA Indoor National Championship in Charlottesville, Va., on Feb. 7-10. The Tar Heels defeated UCLA in the title match last season for its first indoor national championship.
North Carolina (4-0) had a comfortable time in doubles for the second day in a row, winning the point in about 30 minutes.
The 12th-ranked duo of Jamie Loeb and Hayley Carter won 6-0 at No. 2 doubles, while No. 10 Whitney Kay and Caroline Price wrapped up the point with a 6-3 victory at No. 1 doubles.
In singles, Loeb raced to a 6-1, 6-0 victory at No. 1. Her classmate Carter finished moments later with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles to put the Tar Heels up 3-0.
Price clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles in the longest match of the season to date, going two hours, 10 minutes.
No. 4 Georgia 5, No. 51 Arkansas 0
ATHENS, Ga.-- Georgia beat Arkansas 5-0 Sunday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex to advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the 24th time in program history in search of its fourth national indoor team title.
Georgia (2-0) won a thrilling doubles point and quickly won five singles matches to advance to February's Championships.
In doubles, the fifth-ranked duo of Maho Kowase and Lauren Herring beat the Razorbacks' (1-1) Kimberley-Ann Surin and Brittany Huxley 6-1. Silvia Garcia and Kate Fuller clinched the point with a 6-4 victory versus Yang Pang and Oleksandra Shkorupeieva. Lilly Kimbell and Caroline Brinson fought back after being down two breaks to tie the match at 5-5 before it was suspended.
In singles, Georgia went up 2-0 when No. 33 Kimbell beat Surin 6-1, 6-3. Shortly after, No. 10 Garcia topped No. 115 Hudson 6-1, 6-3 to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage. Kowase, ranked 25th, clinched the Georgia victory with a 6-3, 6-1 win versus Arkansas' McLean. Herring notched Georgia's fifth point of the day with a 6-0, 6-3 win against No. 71 Yang Pang. Though the match outcome had already been clinched prior to the end of Herring's match, the final point was in progress so it was allowed to finish, giving Georgia a 5-0 win.
The Bulldogs improve to 25-3 all-time against the Razorbacks.
No. 7 Texas A&M 4, DePaul 1
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M punched its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship with a 4-1 victory against DePaul in the championship match of the ITA Kick-Off Classic today at the sun-splashed George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
It is the second consecutive year the Aggies (2-0) have qualified for the 16-team national tournament, to be held Feb. 7-10, in Charlottesville, Va.
