It's a sure sign you're good when far from your best is still more than enough.
The fifth-ranked women's tennis team came away with its 85th consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference victory Wednesday afternoon, as it defeated No. 9 Wake Forest 5-3 at Leighton Stadium, despite one of its less impressive performances of the year.
"I think that we competed well and fought really well, but I don't think we played very well," coach Jamie Ashworth said. "I said to them after the match that you don't play your best every day, but good players find a way to win. I think that's what was big for us today."
Although the Demon Deacons are generally accepted as the Blue Devils' closest competition in the ACC, the Duke players were equally as disappointed with their own play.
"I don't think any of us played our best," sophomore Kristin Sanderson said. "I think we fought hard-but I think we all could have played a lot better."
Sophomore Vanessa Webb, playing just her second singles match since suffering a shoulder injury in late January, downed Wake Forest's Amy Jensen, 7-6, 6-3 at No. 2 singles. Though not as impressive as her return on Tuesday, a 6-3, 6-0 win against Utah, Ashworth felt the competition was beneficial for Webb.
"I think it was good for her to be in a close match," Ashworth said. "As we get closer to ACCs and NCAAs, it was good for her to be pushed a little bit, to see what she still needs to work on. She played well against Utah, but the girl from Wake was a better player and pushed her more, so that helped her get back into it mentally."
At first singles, freshman Karin Miller continued to steamroll her competition as she downed Maggie Harris 6-2, 6-1. The No. 2 ranked Miller also teamed with Webb in doubles, where they pulled off the 8-6 win over Wake Forest's Harris and Jensen at second doubles. The win was the clincher for the Blue Devils as it gave them their fifth point on the afternoon.
Just as Webb and Miller's match ended, the match at No. 1 doubles was drawing to a close. Duke's Luanne Spadea and Karen O'Sullivan were down 7-6 at the time to Lule Aydin and Nicola Kaiwai. With the Duke win secured, the fourth-ranked tandem of Spadea and O'Sullivan fell to No. 20 Aydin and Kaiwa 8-6.
Lack of motivation was not the only detractor in the doubles loss as O'Sullivan was hampered by illness that had set in even before her singles match. In fourth singles, O'Sullivan split the first two sets with Wake's Aydin, only to be blanked in the third set.
"By the second set, [O'Sullivan] realized she had to play longer points to win, and that is what she did," Ashworth said. "I think it just got to her, especially her energy level, which is the key to her game."
Sanderson continued to struggle as she lost at No. 6 singles, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 to the Deacs' Annmarie Milton. Although sidelined for over a month with an ankle injury earlier this semester, Sanderson placed the fault not on the injury but on her own mentality and recovery.
"I'm not playing my best tennis right now, but it's just a matter of getting it back," Sanderson said. "It just takes a while. Right after I sprained my ankle, it was kind of tough to get back, but it's coming together.
"The ankle doesn't bother me, it's just a matter of match play after I was out for a little while. It's just a matter of getting confidence back."
The prognosis is good, however, for Sanderson as she showed signs of her former tennis self in the loss, cruising in the second set and grabbing a 5-3 lead in the third before faltering.
"Although she lost, the last two sets of the match were the best two sets that she has played probably in the last month," Ashworth said. "She's hitting the ball fine, its just that she has to keep working on her fitness and conditioning, and that will come."
Rounding out singles play were seniors Luanne Spadea, who downed the Demon Deacons' Kaiwai, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 3 singles, and Diana Spadea, who defeated Cristina Caparis, 7-6, 6-1 at No. 5 singles.
Thursday afternoon marked the first conference match of the season for Duke without former coach Jody Hyden, who resigned over break. As head coach, Hyden had developed a set of team goals along with the rest of the team that they believed would lead them to the top. The change in leadership has not altered the Blue Devils' plans in any way.
"The team goals that we set at the beginning of the year are the team's goals, they weren't Jody's goals and we are going to continue to work towards those goals," Ashworth said. "Aggressiveness is one of them, good doubles is another one. I think we're doing better towards those goals-if the shots aren't there, that's okay because you're still putting pressure on somebody and it will all come around."
Duke returns to action Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. as it heads to South Carolina to face the Gamecocks.
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