##
Women's team, includes chart
##
Tennis teams wrap up undefeated ACC campaigns**
By JOHN SEELKE
Sunday was spring cleaning time for the No. 10 women's tennis team. The Blue Devils finished sweeping up Atlantic Coast Conference competition with a 9-0 win against Georgia Tech.
The victory increased Duke's record to 15-5 overall, with an perfect mark of 8-0 in the conference.
The match against the Yellow Jackets was also Senior Day for the Blue Devils as Christine Neuman, Hillary McKinney and Meredith Lukoff all participated in their final matches atthe West Campus Tennis Courts.
"I'm glad all of our seniors got to play," head coach Geoff Macdonald said. "It's good for them to go out with a nice win. It's nice to mark the four years of the seniors. They've been out here all the time and practiced and really gotten better."
"I don't think that it's hit me yet that this is my last match, just because we have [the ACC tournament] coming up [next weekend] and the season's not over," Neuman said. "It was sentimental before the match started. I know I'll miss this place."
For Neuman, her 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles combined with a doubles win to mark the end of an amazing career for the Blue Devils. A pre-season All-American, Neuman has been plagued by a wrist injury that has limited her action this season. Yet her value to the team has been immeasurable, as Duke is 10-0 with Neuman playing, 5-4 with her out of the lineup.
"We don't retire jerseys, [but] if we did, we'd retire Christine Neuman's," Macdonald said. "She's just had a stellar career."
Sunday the Blue Devils probably had a tougher time with the wind than with their opponents. Georgia Tech has been struggling all year and proved to be overmatched by a team as talented as the Blue Devils.
Also, Lukoff and McKinney, seniors who rarely get to participate in dual matches, picked up two victories apiece for the Blue Devils. Lukoff won the only three-set match of the day at No. 5 singles, and the duo teamed up for a victory at No. 2 doubles.
Duke also got unnecessary help from the Yellow Jackets, who could not field a No. 6 singles player or a No. 3 doubles team. The Blue Devils won both matches by default.
"Georgia Tech's never really a tough team," Neuman said. "We all did a good job just grinding through it and fighting wind conditions. We got through it. We got a win."
Despite finishing undefeated in the conference, Macdonald noted that the ACC has provided tough competition for the Blue Devils, regardless of how close the scores have been.
"It's [been] deceptively easy," Macdonald said. "We're closer to Clemson, Wake [Forest] and Florida State than it would seem. Those matches were really, really close."
Because of the improved competition in the conference, the Blue Devils will concentrate this week on winning what should be a tough conference tournament.
"The thing we're going to do now is really gear up for the ACCs," Macdonald said. "We're going to focus in on that next week, really go after it. You don't win conference championships easily. It's an accomplishment, and it's a difficult thing to do.
"For us top win, we're going to have to beat two top-20 teams. That's different from years past, where we often would play one team in the top 25 to win it. Now it's gotten to be a better tennis conference, and that's good."
Yet having an undefeated tournament record definitely won't hurt Duke's confidence.
"I want us to be cautiously confident," Macdonald said. "I don't think this team will be overconfident, but we also should believe in ourselves. It's going to be fun to build some momentum going into the NCAAs."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.