College Feature
Cal Women Win First ITA National Indoors
by Marcia Frost, 10 February 2016
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When Amanda Augustus us took the helm of the California Bears women's team in 2007, her impact was immediate. She led her team to two NCAA final appearances and two semifinal berths at the ITA Indoors, reaching the top 12 of the rankings every year. The one thing she hadn't brought to Berkeley was a national title - until now.
The
Nielsen Tennis Center at the University of Wisconsin in Madison was the scene for the
2016 ITA National Indoor Championships. Despite a spike in temperature outside that you wouldn't normally see in a Wisconsin winter, inside the courts the heat was on.
Sixteen teams had made their way through the ITA Kickoff Weekend to qualify for this prestigious draw. Included in that group was the University of North Carolina team, looking to win for the third time in four years.
After round one on Friday it was clear this was going to be a tough tournament for all the teams. Even though top-seeded Vanderbilt, No. 4 California, No. 3 North Carolina, and second-seeded Georgia shut out their opponents, what was waiting for them would be a much tougher task.
Ohio State was showing their strengths in their 4-2 match over Fresno State and the University of Michigan had taken out No. 7 Miami, 4-2, but the biggest story of the day was LSU. The Tigers, led by Mike and Julia Scaringe Sell, had upset Georgia Tech to earn their place in this event. They did it again in Madison, this time pushing out No. 6 Oklahoma State 4-3.
In the Saturday quarterfinals, there was a time when it looked like LSU might do it again against No. 3 North Carolina when they were up on nearly all courts, but North Carolina proved their seeding, turning the match back around and taking it 4-1.
