Only three members of this year's Duke women's tennis team were on the squad last May when Georgia knocked off Duke, 5-4, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But this season's young Blue Devil squad still had some extra motivation when it headed to Athens, Ga., on Saturday for a chance at a bit of revenge against the fourth-ranked Bulldogs.
Duke (3-1) came away with its biggest win of the 1996 season, defeating Georgia (1-3) by a 5-4 margin in a hard-fought match which went down to the wire. Last year, the Bulldogs defeated the Blue Devils by the same margin in Duke's fourth match of the season.
"This was a huge win for us because they beat us 5-4 twice last year," assistant coach Jamie Ashworth said.
The teams were tied at 3-3 after singles competition. The Blue Devils' doubles squads demonstrated their mettle, winning two of the three matches to clinch the victory.
Duke's No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Laura Zifer and junior Wendy Fix dropped a straight-set match to Georgia's Michelle Anderson and Tina Samara. Although Fix and Zifer compiled a 16-8 record as a doubles tandem last spring, this was the first time that they had been paired together this season, since Zifer had been hampered by a leg injury during the team's first three matches in Utah.
"I felt really comfortable out there in doubles," Fix said. "I think we played very well together, even though we made a couple of errors."
With Duke down 4-3, the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams knew that they had to win to ensure a Blue Devil victory. At the third doubles position, sophomore Luanne Spadea and junior Karen O'Sullivan came back from losing the first set to pull out a victory over Kelly Baskin and Nadine Van de Walle, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
"That was the best match they have played for us all year," Ashworth said. "They're both pretty experienced, and they knew the match was crucial."
That left the score knotted at 4-4 with only the No. 2 doubles match remaining. After splitting the first two sets, Duke's freshman tandem of Vanessa Webb and Kristin Sanderson jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the decisive third set. Georgia's team of Anne Chauzu and Jane Reed fought right back to win the next five games, though, and it seemed that the Bulldogs were on their way to another close victory over Duke. But Sanderson was able to hold serve to send the match to a third-set tiebreaker.
Chauzu and Reed took a 4-2 lead in the tiebreaker, but once again the Blue Devils were able to fight their way back. Webb and Sanderson recovered to win the tiebreaker, 9-7, sealing Duke's victory.
"That was a breakthrough match for them and for our whole team," head coach Jody Hyden said.
Before the doubles play began, Webb and Zifer both won straight-set matches at the No. 1 and No. 4 singles positions, respectively. Fix, playing at the No. 6 singles position, struggled to split the first two sets of her match. But knowing that a victory would be crucial with Duke trailing 3-2, she was able to cut down on her mistakes in the third set.
"I was aware of what was going on [in the other matches], but I don't think that it put any more pressure on me," Fix said. "It calmed me down in that it helped me really focus on every point. In the third set, I finally kept making shots on key points."
The Bulldogs' players were not the only obstacle in the Blue Devils' path on Saturday. Duke's team also had to contend with the noisy Georgia fans, who have made the Bulldogs virtually unbeatable at home. The excitement generated by the crowd in Georgia's indoor tennis facility actually may have been beneficial to the Blue Devils.
"The crowd was a big motivator," Fix said. "You could tell that they really got louder when the matches got close."
The Bulldogs have gotten off to a slow start this season, due in large part to some injuries which have eaten away at their lineup. But for the first time this year, Georgia's team was at full strength on Saturday.
"It was great to beat a team ranked ahead of us, especially since we've never beaten Georgia since I've been here," Fix said. "This showed us that we can beat a really good team."
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