After beginning the match poorly, the third-ranked Duke women's tennis team rebounded to defeat No. 22 Wake Forest, 5-2.
The team began the match flat, losing the doubles point 2-1.
Kristin Cargill and Jennifer Zika fell 8-4 to put the Blue Devils (13-1, 4-0 in the ACC) down a match to Wake (9-8, 1-4).
Then Tory Zawacki and Julia Smith earned the lone doubles win for Duke by defeating the Demon Deacons' Ashlee Davis and Katie Martzolf 8-4 in No. 1 doubles.
In the deciding contest, Amanda Johnson and Saras Arasu were unable to hold on for the win. They had a 6-5 advantage but faltered, giving Wake Forest a 9-7 victory and the team doubles point.
"At the beginning of the match our doubles played sloppily," Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said.
Recognizing his team was not playing up to its potential, Ashworth tried inspiring his team before it returned to the court for singles action.
"All I said after the doubles was, 'Believe in yourselves, believe in each other, and the results will take care of themselves. Talent-wise we have a better team.'"
Even at the start of the singles action, the women were struggling to find their game.
Zika was quickly defeated by the nation's 22nd-ranked player, Karin Coetzee, 6-1, 6-0, at second singles and Duke trailed 2-0.
But then the Blue Devils won their first contest of the night, and the first of five consecutive victories, as sophomore Julia Smith earned a 6-4, 6-1 decision.
"We got a tougher match than we expected," Ashworth said. "That comes from working with the freshmen. Once they realized they were in for a fight they started playing."
The other two freshman, Cargill and Zawacki, were able to win their respective matches in straight sets. Cargill defeated her opponent 6-4, 6-1 at the sixth-slot, and Zawacki won 7-5, 6-2 at third singles.
Saras Arasu, who is currently ranked 93rd, won her tenth straight singles match. It was not without a fight, however, as she had to overcome an early 3-0 first set deficit before going on to win 6-4, 6-0.
Seventh-ranked Amanda Johnson finished the match with a 7-6, 6-1 win against Wake Forest's Davis.
According to their coach, the lackluster performance taught the Blue Devils, especially the freshman, about how they need to approach every contest.
"Being ranked where we are in the country, they have to expect that they will have a target on their back," Ashworth said. "They're going to get the best of whoever they play."
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