It didn't matter to Karen Goldstein that the ACC tournament title already had Duke's name engraved on it before the season started. It didn't matter that the tournament itself has become an exercise in predictability.
Karen Goldstein had business to attend to.
After dropping a pair of conference matches late in the season, Goldstein rebounded for this weekend's ACC tournament in Norcross, Ga., emphatically punctuating the fourth-ranked Blue Devils' 12th straight conference title with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Jackie Houston of Wake Forest in yesterday's final.
Houston defeated Goldstein 6-4, 6-2 in Winston-Salem earlier this season.
"I played much better comparatively," said Goldstein, who earned tournament MVP honors. "I was a little nervous coming in, but I played really well. Not only did I win but I played well, which is better than winning."
The Blue Devils' finals shutout of the Demon Deacons marked the fifth straight year Duke (23-3) has defeated Wake Forest (15-10) for the conference title and the sixth time this decade the two teams met for the conference's top honors.
As hard as it was to top their regular season, the Blue Devils were even more dominating in their tournament run than during their 10th straight undefeated season in the ACC.
After winning 66 of the 72 points in conference competition this season, including 45 of the 48 singles points, no Duke player lost as much as a set in three straight 5-0 whitewashes.
No match advanced as far as doubles.
"One of our goals from the beginning of the year was to win ACCs," Goldstein said. "We don't win to make statements, it's a goal, a team goal. In that way we made a statement to ourselves that we accomplished one of our goals."
Seniors Goldstein, Vanessa Webb and Kristin Sanderson became the seventh straight Duke graduating class to go undefeated in the ACC. And for the group that turned Duke tennis from a perennial top-15 team to a perennial top-five team, there was no better way to go out than the three consecutive shutouts in the tournament.
During their four years here, the seniors never lost more than three points to any ACC opponent, with that happening just once to Wake Forest in 1996.
"What this class has done is help this team realize we can win the national title," said Goldstein, who along with Webb and Sanderson have all won 100 matches, the first such class trio at Duke. "But it's not all senior class. We couldn't have done it on our own. "
The Blue Devils' road to the finals went through Georgia Tech and North Carolina, two teams Duke defeated by a combined margin of 17-1 during the regular season.
The No. 8 seeded Yellow Jackets dropped No. 9 Virginia to meet up with Duke in the first round, while No. 4 North Carolina slipped past No. 7 Maryland to become Duke's second-round opponent.
Neither team managed much luck against the Blue Devils.
"Throughout the whole weekend, we got better progressively," Goldstein said. "The first day wasn't the best day, but we got better each day."
For Duke, though, the ACC tournament is little more than a prelude to the real season, where the value of the entire year will be measured. Despite a pair of close losses to Florida and an early season upset by William & Mary, the Blue Devils are still focused on bringing home their first ever national championship.
What happens in the three weeks Ashworth has to practice with his team before the NCAA tournament begins will more than likely decide whether a team that has come within one match of a national championship can make that last large leap.
"The three weeks of practice are really important," Goldstein said. "We're definitely better than we were last year, and if everyone keeps on working, we've definitely got a good chance of winning."
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