CHAPEL HILL - Duke had all sorts of weather problems Saturday-both thunderstorms and Hurricanes.
The second-seeded Blue Devils (17-7) fell, 4-2, to No. 3 seed Miami (19-6) in the semifinals of the ACC Championships Saturday, a day after rolling over seventh-seeded Wake Forest (13-9), 4-0, in the quarterfinals.
Due to continued rain Saturday, the match was moved from the Cary Tennis Center to North Carolina's Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center, and it began nearly six hours after the scheduled start time.
The Hurricanes, who had beaten Duke in the final match of the regular season, gained momentum by pulling out a 7-4 tiebreaker win in the second doubles position to capture the first point of the match.
Miami took the No. 1 doubles match, 8-1, but it looked as if Duke could complete two comebacks at the second and third positions. After trailing 4-1, freshmen Jessi Robinson and Tara Iyer stormed back and broke the Hurricanes' serve to send the match to a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was equally as tight, but the Blue Devil freshmen took the last two points to win the match, 9-8 (5), and place the doubles point in the hands of the No. 2 pair.
That team of freshman Melissa Mang and senior Jackie Carleton trailed most of its match but secured two late breaks to also force a tiebreaker. There, the duo jumped out to a 3-2 advantage, but Miami's Monika Dancevic and Audrey Banada won five of the next six points to take the match and the crucial doubles point.
The letdown of the failed team comeback attempt may have carried over into the singles competition, head coach Jamie Ashworth said. Iyer and Robinson each quickly fell behind a set at the No. 4 and No. 6 singles positions, respectively.
"Two of our three freshmen came out and lost the first set, 6-0, so I think they were emotionally down a little bit after doubles," Ashworth said. "Our goal all year, after winning or losing the doubles point, is to get a singles win quickly. And instead we got down two first sets."
Iyer and Robinson both fell in their second sets, giving Miami a 3-0 advantage. Mang won, 6-1, 7-5, at the third spot and sophomore Clelia Deltour triumphed, 7-5, 6-0, at the No. 5 position to pull Duke within one. Audra Cohen, the second-ranked player in the nation, however, clinched the Hurricanes' trip to the finals, overcoming a hot start by Daniela Bercek, ranked fourth nationally, to take the No. 1 match, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
After making the ACC finals every year from 1988-2004, the Blue Devils have now been knocked out by the Hurricanes the last two years, with last season's defeat coming in the quarterfinals.
This year's match featured a very intense atmosphere in which three unsportsmanlike conduct point penalties were assessed-two to Duke's Carleton and one to Miami's Cohen. Cohen received her penalty for arguing a call after she was overruled twice on balls she incorrectly called out, one of which was a potential match point.
Carleton received her first for throwing down her racket following the doubles tiebreaker loss. The senior picked up the second penalty in the third set of her singles match after loudly inquiring as to whether the line judge had attended Miami.
"The one in doubles was just frustration from losing-coming back and being up in the tiebreaker and then losing," Ashworth said. "She's been able to battle back from that all year. She's a very emotional player, and she has been able to channel that into some positive things."
Such frustration was not as present in Duke's victory over Wake Forest Friday at the Cary Tennis Center. Although the Blue Devils struggled in doubles, the top pair of Bercek and Jennifer Zika came back from a 7-4 deficit to secure the doubles point for Duke with a 9-7 victory. The Blue Devils followed up by winning three straight-set singles matches to quickly close out the victory.
"We played some of the worst doubles we have played all year-we fought well, but we didn't play well," Ashworth said. "I think it hurt Wake more to lose the doubles point, than for us to win the doubles point. We know we are more talented than them in singles... and in our singles, we played really well."
Despite exiting the ACC Championships sooner than desired, the team is not discounting its chances in the NCAA Tournament. Selections for that event will be announced May 3, and the first round will begin May 12.
"We know it's just a loss. We'll bounce back and we'll be ready-everyone has things to work on," Mang said. "We have a big chance to win it, and we know that. If we all come out and play our best, I don't think any team can beat us."
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