Top-5 tennis teams stroll to easy victories

The women's tennis team (3-0) showed why it is ranked third in the nation last weekend with convincing wins over No. 20 Ohio State (4-1) and No. 50 Indiana (6-1). On Saturday at College Park, Md., the Blue Devils handed the Hoosiers their first loss of the season in a 7-0 victory. Freshmen Ansley Cargill and Amanda Johnson, seniors Megan Miller and Kathy Sell and sophomores Katie Granson and Prim Siripipat dominated singles play, losing only 19 games in their six matches. "We came out strong at the start," co-captain Sell said. "Sometimes the other teams aren't willing to put up a fight when we come out ready to go." The doubles teams of Miller-Johnson, Cargill-Sell and Hillary Adams-Granson swept Indiana with 8-1, 8-2 and 8-2 wins, respectively. "We did a good job in doubles putting teams away and not letting them get into any of their matches," coach Jamie Ashworth said. The most impressive victory of the weekend, though, came Friday night as Duke swept Ohio State 7-0. Last year, the Blue Devils barely defeated the Buckeyes in a 5-4 win in their first match at the Sheffield Tennis Center on campus. This year's Ohio State team returned every player from last year's squad, yet it was unable to match Duke's depth at every position. Cargill, ranked No. 2 in the nation, defeated Ohio State's 19th-ranked senior Kristy Dascoli, dominating the first set 6-2 and holding Dascoli off in the second 7-5 to take the win. Sixteenth-ranked Johnson won easily at No. 2 singles with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Monica Rincon. No. 6 Miller, No. 14 Sell and Granson all picked up 6-1, 6-1 wins at the third, fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Rounding out Duke's sweep was Adams with a 7-5, 6-1 triumph. In doubles action, Miller and Johnson had an impressive 8-5 victory over No. 5 Dascoli and Rincon. "Amanda and I are really playing well together," Miller said. "We know each other's movements and we've got great chemistry." The Blue Devils also walked away with an 8-1 doubles victory from Sell and Cargill at the No. 2 spot and an 8-5 win from Adams and Granson at No. 3. While Ashworth was pleased with Duke's overall play this weekend, the Blue Devils' coach singled out the strong performance of Miller. "Megan's play was the biggest thing for us this weekend," Ashworth said. "She lost two games in two singles matches, and her performance is huge for us." Miller, an All-American last year who played No. 1 singles at Duke, has had to accept a different role on this year's younger squad. "I talked to my father last weekend about refocusing," she said. "I went out determined to prove I can do whatever I need to do to help our team." Ashworth said he will need Miller and the rest of her teammates to be on the top of their games next weekend when they compete at the National Team Indoors in Madison, Wisc., second in prestige only to the NCAA Championships in May. "Any time you come out and make a statement like this before a big tournament, it's great for your confidence," Sell said. "Everyone knows how good we are."