If only Raef LaFrentz played women's tennis, then maybe Kansas could have upset Duke on Friday. But since he does not, the third-ranked Blue Devils (3-0), behind a strong doubles performance, dismissed the Jayhawks (2-1) by a score of 6-3 indoors in Greensboro.
"This is the first real test we've had against a team that will be top-10 in the country by the end of the year," coach Jamie Ashworth said.
With the overall match score at 3-2, only junior Kristin Sanderson remained on the court. She lost the first set 6-4 to Christie Sim, who had defeated her in the fall. Down 4-3 in the second set, Sanderson rallied to win the next three games of the set to force a third.
"I knew I needed to keep the ball in the court," Sanderson said. "I just knew if I could win that game at 4-3, I had a good chance to win the match."
After coming from behind in the second, Sanderson was confident going into the third set. She managed to pulled out the set, 6-4, and evened the score at 3-3 going into doubles.
"This win was huge for our team, and it was huge for Kristin," Ashworth said. "She had lost to this girl in September and lost the first set in the match. She could have just quit, but she fought her way back and that was a real momentum swing for us."
With momentum now on their side, the Blue Devils opened up 5-0 leads in both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles before winning 8-1 and 8-3, respectively. These two wins clinched the victory for Duke, but freshman Kathy Sell and sophomore Brooke Siebel won at the No. 3 doubles position to complete the sweep.
"Our goal in the doubles was to get off to a really quick start," Ashworth said. "We took Kansas out of the match right away."
The Blue Devils fed off each others' solid performances in the doubles, which led to the final three wins.
"It always helps when you can look over to the next court and see your teammates are winning their match," Sanderson said. "I think we really helped each other out."
Duke got off to a shaky start, trailing Kansas 3-1 after its first four matches. Juniors Vanessa Webb and Karen Goldstein and Siebel all fell in straight sets to the Jayhawks. These three losses put pressure on the other three players to avoid the upset.
Freshman Megan Miller kept Duke's hopes alive with a straight-set win over Christine Sues, 6-2, 7-6.
Sell pulled through with a tough win in only the third dual match of her collegiate career. She won the first set 6-4 against Brooke Chiller, but Chiller forced a tiebreak in the second. Sell proceeded to take the tiebreak 7-5, winning her match.
"That was good for Kathy being a freshman. That was the first time she really had dual match pressure on her, and she played well," Ashworth said.
The Blue Devils will be in action again this week at the Rolex Indoors in Wisconsin.
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