The 10th-ranked women's tennis team beat Virginia Tech, 6-1, in Blacksburg Sunday, but suffered a disappointing 5-2 loss Saturday at 43rd-ranked Virginia.
Saturday marked the first conference loss for the women's team this year and the first loss to Virginia in 25 years. For underdog Virginia, it was the first win over a top-10 team in school history.
The Blue Devils (10-3, 3-1 in the ACC) lost the doubles point for only the second time this season, dropping close matches in the top two doubles spots. Kristin Cargill and Jessi Robinson were the only victorious doubles pair.
"It was more the way we lost than the fact that we lost," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth, who added that the Blue Devils are a much more talented team than the Cavaliers.
Both Robinson and freshman Melissa Mang captured singles points against Virginia but the Cavaliers took four singles matches to secure the victory. Mang attempted to set a winning pace for the Blue Devils when she quickly defeated her opponent to tie the team score, 1-1. Nevertheless, Virginia took the next two singles points, as both Tara Iyer and Daniela Bercek fell in straight sets, giving Virginia a 3-1 lead.
Duke's three remaining matches on court had all dropped first sets to Virginia (8-5, 2-2). Robinson and Jackie Carleton both pushed their matches into a third set with Robinson eventually defeating her opponent. Cargill, however, was defeated in a second set tie-breaker at the No. 5 position, clinching the match for the Cavaliers.
"We were out-hustled and out-scrapped," Ashworth said. "We've lost matches before, but not in that way."
The loss motivated the team to come back strong Sunday, as they rolled over Virginia Tech, 6-1.
After experimenting with some different doubles combinations in the past few matches and losing the doubles point Saturday, the Blue Devils returned to the pairings used for much of the early season against Virginia Tech (10-7, 0-5) Sunday.
The move was a success as the team captured the lead early by taking all three doubles matches. Bercek and Robinson clinched the point at the No. 1 position and Cargill and Carleton followed shortly at the second spot.
Mang, who played at the No. 3 singles position against Virginia, lost the only match of the day in the No. 2 spot when Anat Elazari of Virginia Tech was able to break her eight-match winning streak, defeating Mang 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Despite the loss, Ashworth said Mang has been playing good tennis all season and has been able to perform well at a number of different positions. The 122nd-ranked Mang had captured her team-leading 20th win against Virginia.
Freshman Iyer, playing in the No. 3 position against the Hokies, was the first off the court, handily defeating her opponent 6-3, 6-1. Jennifer Zika clinched the win for the Blue Devils at the No. 6 position. After losing her first set, 4-6, Zika bounced back to win the next two, 6-4, 6-3.
Robinson was the only player to win both singles matches this weekend. After losing her first set Sunday, 6-4, she only gave up three more games, winning the next two sets, 6-2, 6-1, for her third straight singles win.
The Blue Devils will face sixth-ranked Florida when they return to their home court Tuesday at 5 p.m.
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