University of Alabama Team Page

URBANA, Ill. - Alexa Guarachi won a three-set thriller in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday, knocking off Columbia’s Nicole Bartnik, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Guarachi will now face No. 2 seed Sabrina Santamaria of USC in the Round of 32 on Thursday at 9 a.m. CT.

Bartnik, ranked 73rd, took control of the first set; however 36th-ranked Guarachi would come back in the second to hold on for the win. In the third set, the two remained within a game of each other until Guarachi picked up a huge break to pull ahead, 5-4. At that point, the match was suspended due to rain, but that didn’t deter Guarachi, who served for win coming out of the delay.

The Crimson Tide was also represented in the singles tournament by Mary Anne Macfarlane, who dropped her first round match to seventh-ranked Gina Suarez-Malaguti of North Carolina, 6-2, 6-4.

In addition to Guarachi’s singles match, she and Macfarlane will compete in the opening round of the NCAA Doubles Championship on Thursday at 2 p.m. CT.

For more information on the NCAA Championships, including live video and live scoring, click here.

RESULTS
Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Mary Anne Macfarlane (UA) 6-2, 6-4
Alexa Guarachi (UA) def. Nicole Bartnik (COL) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4