WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Gator senior
Anna Danilina was down in her NCAA Singles Championships round of 16 match, but never out of it as she rallied for a thrilling three-set victory and advanced to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season.
Danilina will play Vanderbilt's 10th-ranked Fernanda Contreras on Saturday at 12 p.m. Danilina and Contreras squared off once during the regular season, with the Gator senior earning the 7-5, 6-1 victory on April 14 in Gainesville. Danilina played two unfinished matches against Astra Sharma during the other two dual match meetings versus the Commodores.
At the Wake Forest Tennis Complex on Friday, Danilina found herself down a set and receiving at 5-4 against Duke's Kelly Chen, who one day prior had knocked off the event's No. 2 seed.
Danilina turned away a pair of match points in that ninth game to earn the break and held for a 6-5 lead. She then won the first three points in the 12th game and later captured another break to claim the second set and force a deciding third.
After a very short rain delay, Danilina held to open the first, having to turn away three break points, and the match was on serve through three games.
Danilina broke through in the fourth game and held for a 4-1 lead. She then captured another break on her first opportunity in the sixth game and went to the baseline for serve for the match. She had two chances on her serve, but wasn't able to convert either and headed back to the court with a 5-2 lead.
She won the first three points off Chen's serve and this time finished the match with an exclamation point as she completed the brilliant comeback.
Net Notes – Anna Danilina
- This is the second time Danilina will be competing in the NCAA Singles Championships.
- Last year she advanced to the quarterfinals where she lost to Gator teammate and eventual finalist Belinda Woolcock.
- Danilina enters the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championships with a 30-10 overall singles record with a 97-27 career mark.
Quotes from the Court:
Associate Head Coach Dave Balogh
"Today was a completely different matchup than yesterday for Anna. She had a rough start adjusting, but obviously did another great job of finding a way to change up things and turn it around. She's competing really well right now!"
Gator Senior Anna Danilina
NCAA Division I Women's SINGLES Championships – Round of 16
Wake Forest Tennis Complex * Winston-Salem, N.C.
Friday, May 25, 2018
Complete Results
SINGLES – Round of 16
#27 Luisa Stefani (PEPPERDINE) def. #21 Gabriela Talaba (TEXAS TECH) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
[6] #7 Arianne Hartono (OLE MISS) def. [9-16] #14 Paige Hourigan (GEORGIA TECH) 6-1, 6-2
[9-16] #11 Astra Sharma (VANDERBILT) def. #43 Emily Arbuthnott (STANFORD) 6-2, 6-4
#22 Mayar Sherif Ahmed (PEPPERDINE) def. [5] #5 Gabriela Knutson (SYRACUSE) 6-4, 7-5
[9-16] #17 Ashley Lahey (PEPPERDINE) def. [7] #9 Ena Shibahara (UCLA) 7-5, 6-3
[9-16] #31 Andrea Lazaro (FIU) def. [3] #3 Estela Perez-Somarriba (MIAMI) 6-1, 5-7, 6-0
[8] #10 Fernanda Contreras (VANDERBILT) def. #48 Veronica Miroshnichenko (LOYOLA MARYMOUNT) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
[9-16] #18 Anna Danilina (FLORIDA) def. #28 Kelly Chen (DUKE) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Saturday's Action
SINGLES - Quarterfinals
#27 Luisa Stefani (PEPPERDINE) vs. [6] #7 Arianne Hartono (OLE MISS)
[9-16] #11 Astra Sharma (VANDERBILT) vs. #22 Mayar Sherif Ahmed (PEPPERDINE)
[9-16] #17 Ashley Lahey (PEPPERDINE) vs. [9-16] #31 Andrea Lazaro (FIU)
[8] #10 Fernanda Contreras (VANDERBILT) vs.
[9-16] #18 Anna Danilina (FLORIDA)
Complete Updated Draws (PDF)
Scoring for the Individual Championships
- All matches shall be the best-of-three sets.
- No-ad scoring and a seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) at six-games-all will be used for all matches.
The 4-1-1
- Who: 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams
- What: 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Singles & Doubles Championships
- When: May 23-28
- Where: Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Host School: Wake Forest University
- Official Website (Scoring & Video): http://www.wakeforestsports.com/ncaatennis/
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