While the rest of the student body was busy enjoying spring break, the sixth-ranked women's tennis team had the burden of playing two matches over vacation in Waikoloa, Hawaii. Head coach Jamie Ashworth's squad faced No. 18 Notre Dame and No. 36 Tennessee, winning both matches by the scores of 6-1 and 4-0, respectively.
"Going to Hawaii does a couple things," Ashworth said. "It's so hot, it prepares us to play four days in a row, [and] on the recruiting side, every team is going to Europe, Hawaii, or Austrailia, [so] this gives us exposure."
Duke (7-1) started off on the right foot and kept going against the Fighting Irish, with senior Amanda Johnson and junior Saras Arasu winning No. 2 doubles 8-4 while freshmen Jennifer Zika and Kristin Cargill took No. 3 doubles by the same score. In the first doubles flight, freshman Tory Zawacki and sophomore Julia Smith lost to Catrina Thompson and Christian Thompson 8-6.
"We played well, and doubles played better than [they] played all year," Ashworth said.
The team went on to win the first five singles matches in straight sets and drop the other in three, with Cargill beginning the charge in an easy 6-0, 6-3 victory over Sarah Jane Connelly in the 6th flight.
Smith, next to finish her match, followed with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph against Lauren Connelly at No. 4. The Austrian native Zika took out Christian Thompson 6-3, 6-1 at 2nd singles, and Zawacki clinched the match by defeating 84th ranked Catrina Thompson 7-5, 6-2 at the No. 3 position. Arasu took 5th singles by the count of 6-3, 7-5, and Johnson, the nation's fifth-ranked player, started strong before falling to 13th-ranked Alicia Salas 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
The Tennessee match, played in 100 degree heat, was a quick 4-0 victory for the Blue Devils, as several matches, unaffecting the final outcome, were called due to weather.
Duke captured the doubles point in consecutive matches for the first time this season, as Zawacki and Smith started by winning 1st doubles 8-6 against the Volunteers. Johnson and Arasu then won 8-3 at No. 2 doubles.
The singles played out in similar fashion, with the Devils winning three quick points, after which play was suspended. Zawacki took 3rd singles quickly, defeating Ashley Robards 6-1, 6-3. Smith claimed victory over Blakeley Griffith 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 4 spot. Johnson made it a straight-set trio, defeating Tammy Encina 6-2, 6-4 at 1st singles. Duke will play its next three contests at home, including a matchup against Yale at 4 p.m. March 18 and an important meeting with fifth-ranked North Carolina at 1 p.m. March 21.
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