The transition from the indoor courts to the outdoor surface was no problem for the No. 6 ranked women's tennis team (12-1, 1-0 in the ACC) in its 6-1 win over N.C. State (3-3, 0-1) Wednesday in Cary.
"It was a good first outdoor match for us," Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "Just to get outside and hit balls was really good."
As they have done 13 consecutive times, the Blue Devils won the doubles point, sweeping the three matches. In the third flight, Julia Smith and Katie Granson dominated their opponents en route to a 8-0 victory.
"Our doubles as a whole is really good right now," Ashworth said. "Fundamentally we are getting better. We are making fewer mistakes and controlling the matches."
Kelly McCain,
"In doubles Kelly hasn't been playing as well as she would like," said Ashworth. "She is putting more time into her doubles play and she is getting better. In doubles, confidence is her biggest thing."
In singles play, McCain's overpowered Myra Bawono 6-2, 6-0 as she showed her prowess from the baseline.
"I played very well. I had to hit a lot of balls which was good for our first outdoor match," McCain said. "I was hitting my forehand really well."Julie DeRoo, Hillary Adams and Prim Siripipat all coasted to straight set victories. Adams played her first singles match since early fall, and Siripipat has also seen limited action in recent months.
Duke's lone loss on the afternoon came when Loni Worsley defeated No. 37 Saras Arasu 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. As the score indicates, the match was very tight throughout.
"[Worsley] got a lot of balls in play and Saras didn't play as aggressively as she would have liked," Ashworth said.
Prior to the match, Ashworth encouraged his players to consider the outdoor conditions during their matches.
"We talked about using the sun on lobs and which way the winds were blowing," Ashworth said. "We are not accustomed to thinking about the outdoor stuff."
Duke will travel to Las Vegas over the weekend to continue its outdoor schedule as it takes on Texas A&M and UNLV.
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