SPORTS  |  TENNIS

Smaller, Smith lead Duke women's tennis at USTA/ITA Regionals

<p>Four Blue Devils advanced to the Round of 32 at the USTA/ITA Regionals in Chapel Hill.</p>

Four Blue Devils advanced to the Round of 32 at the USTA/ITA Regionals in Chapel Hill.

A Duke doubles team advanced to the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA Regionals—but it was not the one ranked inside the nation's top 40.

The No. 19 Blue Devils traveled to Chapel Hill looking to build on solid performances at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships. Duke sent eight competitors to the event, but no Blue Devil advanced past the Round of 32 in the singles draw. On the doubles courts, Rebecca Smaller and Alyssa Smith made it to the quarterfinals before being knocked out by South Carolina's Ingrid Martins and Ellie Zogg.

In singles competition, Smaller picked up her first win of the year, defeating UNC Wilmington’s Annika Sillanpaa, 6-4, 6-0, before losing to top-seeded Hayley Carter, 3-6, 2-6. But the London native had plenty of tennis left to play, teaming with Smith for three doubles victories before being ousted.

The duo earned a decisive victory against UNC Greensboro's Masey Demoss and Jamie Grinberg, 8-1. They carried their momentum into the Round of 32 and earned another convincing win against Appalachian State’s Mackenzie LaSure and Melissa Machado, 8-3. Smaller and Smith survived third-seeded Kasey Gardiner and Kimmy Guerin of Wake Forest, 8-7 (3) to reach the quarterfinals, where they kept it close, but eventually fell to Martins and Zogg, 6-8. With their 3-1 record through the tournament, Smith and Smaller moved to 4-3 on the year when competing together as a doubles team.

Senior Beatrice Capra—ranked 71st in the nation—was forced to retire in her first round match against Clemson’s Ally Miller Krasilnikov due to an injury, and freshman Ellyse Hamlin also retired in her opening match against South Carolina’s Paige Cline. Capra and Hamlin began the season as the nation's 39th-ranked doubles pair and received a bye into the second round. The tandem defeated Wake Forest’s Emma Davis and Anna Ulyashchenko 8-4 before falling to Clemson’s Joana Eidukonyte and Theresa Pointek in the Round of 16, 2-8. The Blue Devil pairing has an overall record of 9-2 together this season.

Junior Chalena Scholl won a close match against Elon’s Erica Braschi but could not come back from a first-set deficit against Wake Forest’s Emma Davis. Scholl claimed the second set but dropped the match, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, bringing her singles record to 2-2.

Smith defeated Ansley Speaks of Furman in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, before losing to Winthrop’s Alice Garcia, 2-6, 5-7. Freshman Jessica Ho defeated N.C. State’s Tayla Stenta in convincing fashion, winning 6-0, 6-2. She could not carry momentum to the next match, though, falling to Chloe Ouellet-Pizer of North Carolina,1-6, 6-3, 3-6. Ho currently has a singles record of 4-2 on the year.

In other doubles play, the duo of Ho and Scholl also received a bye in the first round, and defeated N.C. State’s Stenta and Taylor Zaytoun convincingly, 8-1. But they were knocked out by Luisa Fernandez and Andrea Retolaza of Wake Forest 3-8 in the Round of 16—the first loss of the 2015 season for the pair.

Duke will look to get healthy this week before heading back to Chapel Hill to compete at the Kitty Harrison Invitational beginning Nov. 2.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Smaller, Smith lead Duke women's tennis at USTA/ITA Regionals” on social media.