Adachi and Sutjiadi Finish Runner-up at USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships
FLUSHING, N.Y. – Kentucky’s No. 9 pairing of Mami Adachi and Aldila Sutjiadi followed in the same path of All-Americans Sonia Hahn and Tamaki Takagi’s 1988 run to the championship final of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships, finishing as the runners-up in the national championship title game.
Adachi and Sutjiadi have played in two national championship tournaments during the fall season, and have finished runner-up in both. The other tournament in which the Wildcats advanced to the final match was the Oracle/ITA Masters on Sept. 20.
The Wildcats took No. 15 Haley Carter and Whitney Kay of North Carolina to three sets in the title match, taking the first set, 6-4, before dropping a 6-4 set to the Tar Heels. Carter and Whitney, who were also appearing in their second national championship match of the season, went on to secure their victory in the third set, 10-6.
Kentucky’s standout duo took down two other ranked opponents on the way to the championship match. On Friday, Adachi and Sutjiadi beat No. 54 Josie Kuhlman and Belinda Woolcock of Florida, 6-2, 6-4. Saturday saw an upset over No. 3 Maegan Manasse and Denise Starr of California in 6-4, 6-2 sets. Manasse and Starr had previously won a national championship title at the ITA All-American, and have only had two losses in the fall season. Both of their losses were to Adachi and Sutjiadi, as the two teams squared off at the Oracle/ITA Masters with Kentucky securing a 7-6(3), 6-3 win to advance to the finals in Malibu, Calif.
The championship match marked the end of the fall season for the Wildcats. Kentucky will open up the 2016 campaign on Jan. 23, when the team will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on Dartmouth at 2 p.m. ET.
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Doubles
Championship Game
#15 Haley Carter/Whitney Kay (UNC) def. #9 Mami Adachi/Aldila Sutjiadi (UK), 4-6, 6-4, 1-0(6)
