Nevermind that Wednesday’s loss to Wake Forest was Duke’s first conference road loss since 1989.
Forget that it was the second time that Duke had been blown out in the last two weeks.
The Demon Deacons’ 6-1 domination showed the No. 12 Blue Devils (12-6, 3-2 in the ACC) that they need to put more effort into their matches.
“We are not a talented enough team to just show up and win a match,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said.
Duke will host Virginia (5-10, 1-4) Saturday and Maryland (7-9, 1-4) Sunday looking for victories to get its season back on track. Katie Blaszak and Saras Arasu will be honored on Senior Day before Sunday’s contest.
After a blistering 10-3 start in the spring, the Blue Devils have cooled off, going just .500 over their last six matches. The two ACC losses over this period have likely taken them out of regular season title contention. With five conference tilts remaining, Duke can still manage a first-place finish, but only if league leader Miami falters in both of its final ACC contests and the Blue Devils win all of theirs.
Lack of energy has been a problem in Duke’s recent losses. The team has had a tendency to come out flat and to drop the doubles point. Now Duke must face two more conference foes who will be looking to capitalize on that weakness.
“This team has to get used to playing with a target on its back,” Ashworth said. “No matter who we play, people want to beat us.”
Fortunately for the Blue Devils, both Virginia and Maryland enter the weekend struggling. Virginia is 1-5 over its last six matches with its only win coming against a weak Virginia Tech squad. Maryland is riding a five-match losing streak of its own, which will likely become six when the Terrapins meet 14th-ranked North Carolina Saturday.
Even without No. 3 singles player Jennifer Zika, who has been sidelined with an injury, the Blue Devils have a depth advantage over Maryland and Virginia. Both opponents have only one player ranked in the top 125 and each also lost badly to No. 34 Florida State, which Duke beat earlier in the season.
Ashworth may attempt to use the team’s lineup to get a mental edge as well, indicating that he might make changes to give his team an early boost.
“We have to do something to shake up what we’re doing, and lineup changes are a definite possibility,” he said.
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