Alexa Graham wins ITA National Fall Championship
Graham has twice led the Tar Heels to indoor team national titles, three conference championships and is a five-time All-America selection. She can now add an individual ITA crown to that resumé.
Alexa Graham is one of the best players in the history of North Carolina women’s tennis. She has twice guided the Tar Heels to indoor team national titles, three conference championships and is a five-time All-America selection, yet an individual ITA crown had eluded the Garden City, New York, native.
That was erased on Sunday in the finals of the 2020 Oracle ITA National Fall Championship that was broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
Graham played her best match of the tournament in a straight-set win over UCLA standout Abbey Forbes to become the third Carolina women’s tennis player to win the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, following in the footsteps of Jamie Leob (2013) and Sara Daavettila (2019).
Graham knocked off top seed Ashley Lahey of Pepperdine in the semifinals to reach her second ITA Individual final in as many years. Last year at the ITA All-American Championship, Lahey held off Graham for the title.
Graham and Lahey are certainly no strangers to each other. This was the fourth meeting between the two collegiate stars. Each have won two head-to-head meetings.
Carolina now boasts three players on its active roster that have won major ITA individual titles. Alle Sanford was victorious at the 2017 Oracle ITA Masters and Daavettila won this same event last year.
