While most Duke students will spend Spring Break on the beach, on a trip or at home, the women's tennis team will spend that time battling with three of the top 10 teams in the nation. The Blue Devils will travel to Las Vegas to take on No. 36 UNLV and then swing by Provo for a date with 10th-ranked BYU before coming home to face No. 7 Texas and top-ranked Florida.
"This will be a big week for us," coach Jamie Ashworth said. "We will be playing three ranked teams right in a row, but I think we're ready."
Duke will be playing the tandem of Texas and Florida at Duke Tennis Stadium on Mar. 20 and 22, respectively. Texas boasts the No. 3 singles player in the country in Sandy Sureephong. Not too far behind is her counterpart in sixth-ranked Vanessa Webb. Webb struggled at times earlier in the season but has looked impressive lately.
"She had been making some changes in her game," Ashworth said. "Whenever you do that you have to be prepared to take some losses, and she was able to do that due to the depth and strength of our team. She will be better for it this week."
The Longhorns have only one loss in six matches, but they are only a warm-up for the big one on Sunday. The Gators, led by No. 17 Dawn Buth, come into the match without a loss. Buth, and her partner, Stephanie Nickitas, hold a No. 2 ranking in doubles, which is the strongest part of Florida's team.
The Blue Devils' doubles teams are not too shabby themselves. Duke has won eight of its last nine doubles matches, with Webb and Karen Goldstein ranked No. 3 in the country.
"It is always good when we can schedule matches against teams in the top five," Ashworth said. "It will help our confidence going into ACC play."
Duke's freshmen, Megan Miller and Kathy Sell, who are a combined 21-0 in singles on the year, will gain some valuable experience playing against the country's top teams. They have played great tennis thus far, but they have not yet played Florida.
"They've seen some teams in the top 10," Ashworth said. "Now they can see Florida, and that's really as good as it's going to get. They've held their own so far."
While Duke is ranked third, this dual match with Florida will give it a chance to really see where it stands. The Gators will be more than ready to defend their No. 1 ranking, while a win by the Blue Devils could propel them into the top spot.
The Blue Devils should certainly not be intimidated by Florida. So far this year, Duke is 3-0 versus teams ranked in the top 10. It destroyed both sixth-ranked Mississippi and No. 8 William and Mary and squeaked by No. 5 California.
But before Duke can worry about Texas and Florida, it will travel to the city where Elvis' best movie was set, Las Vegas, to take on UNLV and BYU. The Running Rebels will be shooting for the upset and hope to catch the Blue Devils with a case of jet lag. Unless the Blue Devils spend all night in the casinos before the match, UNLV should not pose much of a problem.
Duke will face the Rebels on Mar. 16, then play BYU the next day. The Cougars, ranked 10th in the nation, may catch Duke in a tired state having played the day before. They are led by the No. 7 singles player, Holly Parkinson, and No. 13 Eline Chew.
This match will be a good test for the Blue Devils, especially since this is practically a road match. BYU did not earn its No. 10 ranking by rolling over against top-ranked teams, so it will certainly give the Blue Devils a fight until the end.
"We haven't really been tested or pushed in our last couple of matches," Ashworth said. "Teams like BYU and Texas will really prepare us to play tough matches.
Duke could possibly be ranked No. 1 after these four matches are over. The teams that get overlooked are often the ones who pull the upsets, but there is no doubt the match with Florida will be the highlight of the week. After all, there is nothing better than beating the school where Steve Spurrier coaches, even if it isn't in his sport.
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