This past weekend, the No. 3 women's tennis team began the quest for its first-ever national championship. And sometimes the beginning of journeys can start out a little bumpy.
After defeating Kansas 7-0 in the season opener last Saturday in Williamsburg, Va., the Blue Devils dropped a nail-biter to ninth-ranked William & Mary on Sunday, 5-4.
"We have to take matches more seriously no matter what the opponent's rank," Duke coach Jody Hyden said. "We have to be ready for a war, and I don't think that we expected a war against William & Mary."
To Duke's defense, it was not quite at full strength. The Blue Devils (1-1) were missing the No.1 player in the country in sophomore Vanessa Webb, who suffered a shoulder injury, and sophomore Kristin Sanderson, most likely Duke's No. 3 player. The injuries forced Duke to juggle its lineup and move everyone up at least one slot.
The match began with the singles competition under the eyes of a large partisan William & Mary crowd. Freshman Karin Miller, the No. 9 player in the country, moved into the team's top position where she played the Tribe's Lauren Nikolaus, ranked 15th nationally. Miller fell 6-3, 6-4 to the veteran Nikolaus.
"Nikolaus is a very good player," Hyden said. "Being a freshman, I don't think Karin knew what to expect. I think that she was a little bit nervous with the pressure of a dual match. This kind of match will help Karin in the long run. I think that Karin will beat that girl in the future."
William & Mary also earned points in the singles competition with victories over seniors Wendy Fix, Karen O' Sullivan and Diana Spadea. Senior Luanne Spadea and junior Laura Zifer gave Duke two points with wins at the No. 3 and No. 6 positions, respectively.
"We didn't play well in singles, and they did play well in singles," Hyden said. "This was their fifth match of the season, and they were pretty confident. When they saw that Vanessa wasn't there, that gave them even more confidence."
The Tribe's confidence almost cost them. Going into the doubles with a commanding 4-2 lead and needing only one victory to steal the team win, William & Mary started to celebrate. Hyden told his team that even though they were in a deep hole, that the match wasn't over yet.
Without two of his doubles players, Hyden fielded three teams unaccustomed to playing together. At the No. 3 slot, Miller and Zifer defeated the team of Christine Caltoum and Laura Tsaggaris 8-4. The Spadea sisters teamed up to knot the score at 4-4 with a 9-8 victory over the Tribe's Michelle O and Carolijn van Rossum.
Fix and O'Sullivan teamed for the first time since early November to play first doubles. The comeback, however, was unsuccessful, as Nikolaus and Johanna Sones kept the Tribe a perfect 5-0 with an 8-6 win over the Blue Devil tandem.
"I was proud of the way we battled back from 4-2," Hyden said. "We had some chances to beat them, but we didn't finish them. William & Mary played the best that I've ever seen them."
The Blue Devils started the season on a happier note, as they shut out Kansas 7-0 on Saturday. Both teams played without their No. 1 players, as the Jayhawks' Kiley Hunt, a national semifinalist from last year, was also injured. Besides serving as the season opener, the Kansas match featured the men's format of play where the doubles competition is played before the singles action, and the winner of doubles earns one point towards the team score.
"I think that our girls liked using the men's format," Hyden said. "It gave them a chance to earn the point first, and then they were more relaxed.'
Although they are not where they expected to be, the Blue Devils are far from worried. After all, the same thing happened last year in Utah. Duke dropped its season opener to Brigham Young, 5-4, with Zifer sidelined by an injury. The nine-time Atlantic Coast Conference champions then proceeded to earn a berth in the NCAA Final Four.
"This program has a lot of tradition, and this team with four seniors has a lot of pride," Hyden said. "This weekend will affect us in a positive way. We are going to be mentally prepared for every match."
Duke's next team match occurs in two weeks when the Blue Devils possess a chance for sweet revenge, as they face Brigham Young.
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