Danilina advances to quarterfinals in NCAA Tournament after comeback
After senior Anna Danilina found herself down after a brutal 2-6 first set, she didn’t plan on faltering afterwards.
Danilina emerged victorious after an uphill comeback in the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championships, defeating Duke’s Kelly Chen 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
It appeared as if Chen would advance in the tournament after she had Danilina down 5-4 in the second set, needing only one more game to defeat her. Danilina staved off two match points, however, and eventually won the second set 7-5.
A rain delay opened the third set, but it didn’t slow Danilina down. She bested Chen readily in the third set and took home the victory, bringing her to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the second-consecutive year and winning her 97th career singles match.
"Today was a completely different matchup than yesterday for Anna,” associate head coach Dave Balogh said. “She had a rough start adjusting, but obviously did another great job of finding a way to change up things and turn it around.”
Danilina will face a familiar opponent in the quarterfinals, as she’ll square off against Vanderbilt’s Fernanda Contreras. When the two last met on April 14 in Gainesville, Danilina defeated Contreras 7-5, 6-1.
You can follow River Wells on Twitter @riverhwells or contact him at rwells@alligator.org.
Senior Anna Danilina advances to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championships for the second-straight season. Danilina defeated Duke's Kelly Chen 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 16 on Friday.
