After stunning one of the nation’s top 15 players in the Round of 64, all eyes were on Meible Chi to see if she would continue to reach the lofty expectations bestowed on her after a strong fall.
But a failure to find a rhythm when battling from behind cost the Blue Devils’ lone freshman once again, leaving Duke with no representatives in the Round of 16 at the NCAA singles championship.
After upsetting Alabama’s No. 13 Erin Routliffe in the first round, No. 43 Chi battled South Carolina’s No. 47 Mia Horvit at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. Following a close first set, Chi could not mount a comeback, falling 6-4, 6-1.
“[Meible] didn't play as free as she did yesterday,” Blue Devil head coach Jamie Ashworth told GoDuke.com. “She played a little bit tighter and played with more pressure on her. It could have been the moment—second round of NCAAs—but it was a great learning experience for her.”
Horvit opened the match with an early 3-1 lead, but Chi was quick to respond and get a break back to level the score. Although the Weston, Fla., native managed to notch one more game, the Gamecock freshman remained in control to close out the opening set.
Following a rain delay, Chi struggled to keep up with Horvit. Despite giving up the first game, South Carolina’s highest-ranked singles player won six straight games to send Duke’s top player packing, bringing Chi’s first year as a Blue Devil to a close.
“The most important thing, win or lose, is that she learned something—and learned something from her year,” Ashworth said. “She had a great year, something to build on and move forward with. She'll be a great contributor to our program down the road.”
Although the Blue Devils have a relatively young team, they will be missing Chalena Scholl and Alyssa Smith next year—mainstays on Courts 3 and 5, respectively. Without Scholl—the second-highest ranked player on the team—Duke will have a hole to fill entering the 2017-2018 season.
“I'm proud of how our team came together as a group and how we played for each other as a group, no matter what the situation was,” Ashworth said. “Whether we were up in matches or down in matches, we competed with passion and we competed with a lot of pride. There's a lot to build on moving forward and we're looking forward to that and improving.... We've laid the foundation for a great future.”
On the men's side, Duke lone competitors were also eliminated Thursday, as its No. 20 doubles duo of freshmen Nick Stachowiak and Spencer Furman lost to No. 5 Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat of California 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the NCAA doubles championship. The Blue Devils did not have anybody selected to compete in the singles championship.
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