Wrapping up its two-week home stand with a pair of conference matches, the No. 12 Duke women's tennis team took care of ACC foes Clemson Saturday and Georgia Tech Sunday.
No. 14 Duke (15-5, 8-1 in the ACC) pounced on the No. 24 Tigers (13-6, 6-3) to open the weekend with a convincing 6-1 victory at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center, but the Blue Devils fell behind to an early 2-0 deficit to the No. 12 Yellow Jackets before storming back to claim a 5-2 upset victory on Senior Day.
Playing outdoors at Ambler Stadium Sunday, Duke uncharacteristically lost the doubles point, as No. 12 Georgia Tech (16-5, 7-2) took all three closely fought doubles contests.
"We had plenty of opportunities in the doubles, but we just didn't convert," Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "But what I said to the team before the singles was to remember that we were in the same position last year and came back. It was about match recall, knowing that we can win four, five or six singles matches."
Junior Daniela Bercek, Duke's No. 1 and the nation's No. 6 singles player, did not provide one of the wins. Facing top-ranked Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech, Bercek played a tough first set but lost control of her overheads in the second, as Miller took control for a 7-5, 6-2 win.
"[Miller] is probably the best I've played this season," Bercek said. "But when you're playing against the top players, it's such a small difference-one point here or there, and that's it. She didn't give me any free points. She just played better today."
Ashworth took an optimistic view on Bercek's loss.
"It's good for our team to know that even if [Bercek] loses, we can win," Ashworth said. "I'd love to have her win, but it's important for us to realize what we can do regardless of what happens at the No. 1 spot."
Down 2-0 after the loss at the top position, the Blue Devils' other singles players stepped up in dramatic fashion. After straight-set wins by Jackie Carleton and Clelia Deltour at the second and fifth positions, respectively, freshman Tara Iyer fought back from a first set tiebreaker loss to take the next two sets, 6-1, 6-2.
Fellow freshman Jessi Robinson followed that up with a gutsy performance of her own. Already up a set, Robinson led the second 4-1, but faltered down the stretch and dropped the set, 7-5. In the decisive third set, she played through a calf injury to capture a 7-5 victory and clinch the match for the Blue Devils.
"If I was going to fight it out, I might as well win," Robinson said. "It was important for me to pull out a big match, because it's been a while."
Duke was much more dominant in the team's win over Clemson Saturday. The Blue Devils' No. 2 doubles pair, Carleton and Mang, rolled over their Tiger opponents, 8-1. The No. 3 duo of Iyer and Robinson also won, 8-6, to capture the doubles point for Duke. The Blue Devils' No. 1 pair of Bercek and junior Jennifer Zika continued play and upset the ninth-ranked doubles pair, 9-8 (4).
Duke continued its dominance in singles competition, winning five of the six matches in straight sets. The Tigers only point came at the No. 5 position, where Robinson was forced to retire while leading, 2-1, in the third set.
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