After a disappointing performance at the National Clay Courts last weekend, the women's tennis team bounced back with a solid performance at last weekend's Wake Forest Invitational. Junior Vanessa Webb stole the show, winning titles in both Flight A singles and doubles.
"It's nice to be back on solid ground again," Webb said. "Clay's not really my surface."
For the third-ranked Webb, it is the second time this season that she has managed to win two titles in a single tournament, having accomplished the same feat in September at the William & Mary Invitational. For the singles title of this weekend's tournament, she knocked off Wake Forest's Nicola Kaiwai 6-2, 6-2. Although she struggled in the opening rounds, Webb was able to get past unranked foes until she started playing better in the semifinals and finals.
"[In the last two rounds] I was a little more well-rested, and I thought I moved better," Webb said. "I also worked with [head coach] Jamie [Ashworth] on my serve, and I was able to hit my first serve harder. For me, when my serve is going well, I usually play much better."
In doubles action, Webb once again teamed up with Karen Goldstein, who was Webb's partner at the William & Mary Invitational. The duo defeated Kaiwai and Dorothee Kurz 8-2 in the finals. Kaiwai does not usually play with Kurz and is ranked No. 10 when playing with Lule Aydin. Although Ashworth has been mixing his doubles teams, he has kept Webb and Goldstein together all fall, and the duo will likely stay together to play No. 1 doubles in the spring.
"We play consistently well together," Webb said. "It's difficult to find good doubles combinations, so I imagine [our combination] will be permanent. We haven't really faced any spectacular teams, save the team we faced at Clay Courts, but we've beaten some good teams."
The other bright spot for the Blue Devils was the play of their two freshmen, No. 22 Megan Miller and Kathy Sell. After retiring her first match, the injured Miller won her final three matches of Flight A singles to finish in fifth place. Playing in Flight B singles, Sell advanced all the way to the finals. After taking the first set from South Alabama's Iva Puflerova 6-3, Sell dropped the next two, 6-4, 6-2. For Sell, who has missed the entire fall season due to injury, this tournament was a great start to her collegiate career.
"She has to get used to playing on a team in that type of situation," Ashworth said. "I saw her play a few times over the summer and she's playing better now, and that's important that she's improving. She's going to be good. She'll have a great four years here."
Despite the scattered highlights, the Duke's overall performance in the tournament was a bit disappointing, especially considering the competition. Although both Wake Forest and Northwestern are ranked in the top 20, the only two ranked individuals not wearing a Duke uniform were Kaiwai and Northwestern's Katherine Nasser, ranked 71st and 87th, respectively. Four Blue Devils-Webb, Miller, Goldstein, and No. 65 junior Kristen Sanderson-are ranked higher. Both Goldstein and Sanderson suffered early losses in Flight A singles.
"Our preparation wasn't as good as it could have been," Ashworth said. "Still, we played better than we did last week, and that's encouraging. It's important to us that we keep getting better each week."
Part of Duke's woes can be attributed to Ashworth's continuing doubles experimentation. Aside from Webb and Goldstein, Ashworth played three new doubles teams. Sell and Sanderson played in Flight A, while the duo of senior Laura Zifer-who finished fifth in Flight B singles-and Miller, along with the combination of sophomore Brooke Siebel and senior Ellen McCance competed in Flight B. All three of these new teams suffered disappointing losses.
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