Over the last four years, UNC women’s tennis standout Hayley Carter has spent her time carving out a case as the best player to ever come through the program.

After finishing as the national runner-up last season, Carter has carried the No. 2 ranking for most of this season–as she also set a new all-time record for ACC players with her 168 career singles victories.

Unfortunately, Carter’s career came to a screeching halt on Wednesday in Athens, Georgia.

The senior fell in the First Round of the NCAA Singles Tournament, suffering a 6-2, 6-3 loss to No. 44 Anna Danilina of the Florida Gators. Danilina has now won 14 matches in a row after the Gators recently took home the team national championship.

Expected to contend for a national championship of her own, it was quite a shocking end for Carter–a player that has, at times, appeared invincible taking on opponents’ top players every match.

Carter’s Tar Heel teammate Jessie Aney also fell victim to a straight set loss in her First Round match as well–falling 6-1, 6-2 to No. 26 Kate Fahey of Michigan.

The tandem of Carter and Aney are still alive in the Doubles Tournament as the No. 4 overall seed, however, and they will face Georgia’s duo of Kennedy Shafer and Eleni Christofi in a First Round match.

UNC’s only player left standing at this point is freshman sensation Sara Daavettila, who picked up a 7-5, 6-3 win over the same Kennedy Shafer that Carter and Aney will see in the doubles draw.

As a result, Daavettila will move on to face 33rd-ranked Jessica Failla out of the University of Southern California on Thursday.

Related Stories
‹
Women's Tennis: UNC Freshman Sara Daavettila Advances to NCAA Singles Quarterfinals
For the fifth year in a row–but just the seventh time in the history of the UNC women’s tennis program–there will be a Tar Heel in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Tournament. This comes after freshman Sara Daavettila–ranked 18th in the country–knocked off No. 10 Karla Popovic from the University of California in three […]
UNC's Sara Daavettila Wins Honda Sport Award for Women's Tennis
UNC fifth-year senior Sara Daavettila was selected Thursday as the winner of the Honda Sport Award for women’s tennis, becoming the second Tar Heel to win a Honda Award this season. The Honda Sport Award is presented annually to the top female athlete across 12 different NCAA sports. UNC junior Erin Matson was recently named […]
Nine Tar Heels Among Final Women's Tennis Individual Rankings of 2021
A total of nine Tar Heels were among the final Oracle ITA Division I Women’s Tennis rankings of the 2021 season, including eight in the singles rankings. The rankings were revealed on Wednesday, with fifth-year seniors Sara Daavettila and Alexa Graham leading the way. Daavettila — who became just the fifth Tar Heel to ever […]
Sara Daavettila Named a Honda Sport Award Finalist in Women's Tennis
Fresh off becoming just the fifth Tar Heel woman to ever reach the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Tournament last week, UNC senior Sara Daavettila was selected Tuesday as one of four finalists for the Honda Sport Award in women’s tennis. The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually for 45 years to the top […]
Jones, Scotty Become Second UNC Doubles Pairing to Reach NCAA Title Match
On an afternoon where top-seeded Sara Daavettila came up short in the semifinals of the NCAA Women’s Singles Tournament, the UNC duo of Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty kept the Tar Heels’ national title hopes alive on Thursday in Orlando with a win in the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Tournament. Jones and Scotty — […]
Women's Tennis: No. 1 UNC Moves Past Old Dominion Into NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Saturday saw the top-ranked UNC women’s tennis team move one step closer toward its ultimate goal of an NCAA championship, as the Tar Heels made easy work of Old Dominion in Chapel Hill on the way to a 4-0 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. UNC won the doubles point to gain […]
No. 1 UNC Women's Tennis Breezes Past South Carolina State in First Round of NCAA Tournament
The top-ranked UNC women’s tennis team cruised to a 4-0 victory over South Carolina State on Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill, advancing to the second round of this year’s NCAA Tournament. UNC wrapped up the doubles point to begin the match with a pair of 6-0 victories, then received three straight singles wins in quick […]
Top-Seeded UNC Cruises Past No. 4 Seed Virginia in ACC Women's Tennis Semifinals
In pursuit of the program’s fifth consecutive ACC title this weekend in Rome, Georgia, the top-seeded UNC women’s tennis team rolled past No. 4 seed Virginia in Saturday morning’s semifinals by a score of 4-1. The Tar Heels took an early lead after winning the doubles point, then went ahead 3-0 after victories in singles […]
No. 1 UNC Women's Tennis Defeats Wake Forest, Closes Regular Season Undefeated
The top-ranked UNC women’s tennis team wrapped up its regular season with a perfect record at home on Friday afternoon, defeating Wake Forest by a score of 7-0. With the win, the Tar Heels end the regular season 23-0 and extended their program record to 41 consecutive dual match victories overall. UNC won the doubles […]
Women's Tennis: No. 1 UNC Sweeps Boston College to Claim ACC Regular Season Title
With a dominant 7-0 victory on the road over Boston College on Sunday, the top-ranked UNC women’s tennis team clinched its seventh ACC regular season title in the last eight years. For the Tar Heels (22-0), this also marks their 40th consecutive dual match win overall–a program record that includes an 18-0 record during the […]
›