The women's tennis team came back from an unusual match against Notre Dame on Friday evening to defeat a tough squad from Wake Forest a day later.
Junior Wendy Lyons, who is ranked No. 34 in the nation, defeated two top-20 players while competing at the No. 1 singles position for the Blue Devils.
Sixth-ranked Duke split its six singles matches with the 17th-ranked Fighting Irish. However, darkness fell across the West Campus Tennis Courts after a 70-minute rain delay, and the doubles matches were cancelled. The contest was suspended at a 3-3 tie.
Lyons fought back after a rough first set to knock off No. 17 Wendy Crabtree, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.
"Wendy Lyons' game is just coming up," Duke head coach Geoff Macdonald said. "She's very mentally tough now."
In other singles action on Friday, junior Monica Mraz, who is ranked No. 24, defeated Holyn Lord, 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 2 position. Notre Dame sent up Sherri Vitale -- whose father Dick is a renowned basketball analyst -- at the No. 3 singles position. Duke freshman Karen O'Sullivan -- who will probably soon be proclaimed as a "diaper dandy" -- dispatched of Vitale, 6-3, 6-3.
Saturday's Wake Forest match was highlighted by the return of Christine Neuman who was too sick to play against Notre Dame, but inspired the Blue Devils with her 6-2, 6-3 win over Liz Barker at the No. 3 singles position. Neuman, who was sporting a wrist brace, showed little discomfort as Barker attempted to exploit her injury by hitting her a plethora of backhands.
"We are a much better player when Christine Neuman is able to play," Macdonald said. "Just her being out on the court took a lot of guts."
Lyons appeared confident as she dominated her second nationally-ranked victim of the weekend, defeating No. 6 Terri Ann Zawacki, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. On the next court, Mraz survived a back-and-forth match with Dana Evans to pull away a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Evans used her powerful serve and strong groundstrokes to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the third set, but Mraz won the next five games and was able to hold on to preserve her win.
"Dana Evans has a big game," Macdonald said. "Sometimes when you play against somebody like her, you get a little tenative yourself. Instead of playing your game, your so aware of what she might do. So, it was tough for Monica."
At the No. 5 singles position, freshman Wendy Fix battled back from a 6-1, 3-0 deficit midway through the match and won eight straight games en route to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Maggie Harris. Fix was able to control her emotions to help seal her comeback victory.
"She calmed down and began to be rational about what she had to do to win the match," Macdonald said. "You can get drunk on emotions. It's a toxic substance. She was very emotional early and then she calmed down and played good solid tennis."
Fix's win clinched Duke's 7-2 triumph over Wake Forest, who is one of the Blue Devils' top challengers in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Another freshman, Kim Schiff, also came up big on Saturday, posting a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Chrisina Caparis at the No. 6 singles spot.
In doubles action, Fix and Schiff combined for a 7-5, 6-2 win over Caparis and Carol Garland. The tandem of Mraz and Lyons, which is ranked third nationally, had little trouble dismissing Barker and Evans, 6-0, 6-2.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.