North Carolina’s Whitney Kay voted Most Outstanding Player

Courtesy of the ITA: SKILLMAN, NJ – For the second straight year, a rookie has been named the Most Outstanding Player of the ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championship, hosted by the University of Virginia at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va. Whitney Kay of the University of North Carolina took home the 2013 honor after posting a 3-0 record at the third singles position, helping the Tar Heels claim their first ever title at the ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championship and take over the top spot in the ITA Women’s Team Rankings
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After not finishing her opening match against 73rd-ranked Cristina Stancu of Texas A&M, Kay delivered a three set victory over USC’s 23rd-ranked Zoe Scandalis in the quarterfinals to propel North Caroline to a 4-3 upset of the tournament’s third seed. Kay won the first set with ease 6-2, but Scandalis battled back to take the second 7-5 and race out to a 3-0 lead in the final set; however, Kay would rally to claim the last six games of the match for the win. Her defeat of Duke’s 45th-ranked Ester Goldfeld as part of the Tar Heels 4-0 sweep of the Blue Devils was more straightforward, as the freshman won a couple of close sets 6-4, 7-5.

Whitney Kay of UNC
North Carolina's White Kay delivered the decisive
victory in both of the Tar Heels' 4-3 decisions

In the finals, Kay’s marathon match against UCLA senior and 56th-ranked Pamela Montez would be the decisive match, as the team score stood tied at 3-3. The 21st-ranked Kay looked dominant early, taking the first set 6-2, but the Bruin dug in and managed to pull out the second set 6-4. Both players fought through nerves effectively throughout the final set, serving their way into a decisive tiebreak. Kay was able to secure the mini-break early and was able to hold off Montez, executing a forehand pass on her third match point for the 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5) triumph.

Kay is joined on the ITA All-Tournament Team by the following singles players and doubles pairs:

Singles
No. 1 – Danielle Lao, USC
No. 2 – Kyle McPhillips, UCLA
No. 3 – Whitney Kay, North Carolina
No. 4 – Silvia Garcia, Georgia
No. 5 – Caroline Price, North Carolina
No. 6 – Clementina Riobueno, Miami (Fla.)

Doubles
No. 1 – Kaitlyn Christian/Sabrina Santamaria, USC
No. 2 – Courtney Dolehide/Pamela Montez, UCLA
No. 3 – Catherine Harrison/Kyle McPhillips, UCLA

This is the sixth annual ITA National Women’s Team Indoor All-Tournament Team. Voters included the head coaches from the 16 participating teams. Georgia Tech’s Kirsten Flower was named the first ever Most Outstanding Player of the event in 2008. Georgia’s Chelsey Gullickson earned the award in 2009, with Northwestern’s Maria Mosolova receiving the honor in 2010. Stanford senior Hilary Barte was chosen as the Most Outstanding player in 2011, while UCLA rookie Robin Anderson was last year’s selection.