Fiona Crawley captures ITA fall nationals singles title
Crawley is the first woman since Ohio State's Francesca Di Lorenzo in 2016 to win both ITA fall majors in the same season and joins Jamie Loeb in becoming the second Tar Heel to win both titles in the same year.
Fiona Crawley continues to excel on the grandest stages of collegiate tennis. The North Carolina junior finished off an unbeaten fall season by winning the singles championship at the 2022 ITA Fall National Championships from Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.
Crawley is the first woman since Ohio State’s Francesca Di Lorenzo in 2016 to win both ITA fall majors in the same season and joins Jamie Loeb (2013) in becoming the second Tar Heel to win both titles in the same year. Carolina has captured the fall championships singles title three of the last four seasons. Sara Daavettila won the crown in 2019 and Alexa Graham did the same in 2020.
Crawley three-set victory over Princeton’s Daria Frayman on Sunday completes one of the most impressive semesters ever witnessed in college tennis. She finished the fall season with a 17-0 singles record, lost only two sets, and the impressive tournament victories include the Fall Ranked Spotlight and both major championships, the ITA All-American Championships, and now the ITA Fall National Championships.
After the championship ceremony, No. 2 seed Crawley and Carson Tanguilig played in the doubles championship match against top seed Savannah Broadus and Kari Miller of Pepperdine. Carolina dropped the first set, 6-2, but quickly rallied to take a 4-0 lead in the second set. The momentum gradually shifted as Pepperdine won five-straight points and eventually won the title by winning the set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2).
Anika Yarlagadda had her sights set on the Consolation Singles Championship title on Sunday, but No. 5 Chloe Beck of Duke prevailed, 6-1, 6-3. The Tar Heel senior compiled a 13-4 singles record this fall by playing some of her best tennis since coming to Chapel Hill.
The fall season for the Tar Heels has come to a close and will be back in action in January when dual-match season begins in the new year.
