The third-ranked women's tennis team's match with No. 8 Notre Dame on Monday did not start off as expected, but its ending produced the same result as usual-with a victory for the Blue Devils, as Duke downed Notre Dame in a 5-2 decision.
The contest started at 2 p.m. at the Duke Tennis Stadium. By 3:30, however, rain had forced the teams to leave for indoor courts in Chapel Hill.
The setback did not faze the Blue Devils, as they picked up their seventh straight victory, bettering their record to 17-3 for the season.
"The conditions weren't good today outside," junior Karen O'Sullivan said. "It was a little bit chilly and it was drizzling the whole time. That can be very distracting, particularly for me today, that was a factor.... [The change to indoor courts] was good for some, bad for others."
O'Sullivan benefitted from the court change, coming back after dropping the first set to down Notre Dame's Erin Gowen at the fifth seed, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. The Blue Devils picked up three other points in singles play in straight set victories. Freshman Kristin Sanderson dominated the Fighting Irish's Holyn Lord, 6-0, 6-4, at the No. 2 position.
Because the Chapel Hill Tennis Club only has four indoor courts, Sanderson was one of the players who had to endure a wait until she and Lord could retake the court.
"It was pretty hard, because I was up 6-0, 4-1," Sanderson said. "It was deuce and I didn't really like stopping in the middle of a game. When I got [to Chapel Hill], I didn't play first on-I had to wait for a couple hours. It was kind of hard; she came on and started playing really, really well."
Junior Diana Spadea outlasted Notre Dame's Wendy Crabtree at the third singles slot, 7-5, 7-6, while junior Wendy Fix took little time to earn her singles point, as she dropped just one game to Molly Gavin, 6-0, 6-1.
Despite the change of courts, Duke did not seem to be bothered much by the transition.
"I think that the team put all the transitions out of their minds," O'Sullivan said. "We just continued to focus once we got to Chapel Hill to the indoor club, just to focus on our matches and really pull through. That's what we ended up doing."
In fact, the rain has been a factor in several of the Blue Devils' last few contests, so moving indoors was not unusual for the players.
"I think our team liked [moving indoors], because we've had to play our last four matches indoors," Sanderson said. "That means we kind of had the advantage in that aspect."
Freshman Vanessa Webb, who is ranked second nationally, fell at No. 1 singles to Notre Dame's 20th-ranked Jennifer Hall, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, while the Fighting Irish's Marisa Velasco defeated sophomore Luanne Spadea, 6-3, 6-0.
The Blue Devils took a 4-2 lead into the doubles competition, needing just one additional point to secure their victory. O'Sullivan and Luanne Spadea finished off Notre Dame at the second doubles position to clinch the 5-2 win for Duke.
"Luanne and I pretty much dominated that match from the beginning," O'Sullivan said. "We were very pumped up, we were very into it and we played well today. We really took advantage of the situation-those two girls weren't volleying at their best today, and we were playing smart doubles.
"We just kept going for it and we made our shots, so it ended up being a pretty easy second set for us."
The Blue Devils take on 16th-ranked South Carolina at the Duke Tennis Stadium at 2 p.m. this afternoon for their final home match of the season.
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