The Blue Devils endured their second-consecutive slow start to a tournament this weekend, suffering a winless first day Saturday in the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships prequalifying rounds, held at UCLA.
Sophomore Jessi Robinson and freshmen Amanda Granson and Elizabeth Plotkin were each defeated in their first round pre-qualifying matches-knocking the three out of singles draw competition.
Plotkin lost to Georgia's Yvette Hyndman, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Later that day, Hyndman's sister Kelley, also from Georgia, took down Robinson, 6-3, 6-3. Granson lost to Miami's Laura Vallverdu, 6-3, 6-0.
Plotkin was the only Blue Devil to win a set during the rough day for the team's underclassmen-a 6-4 win that tied the match at one set a-piece. She could not, however, build off her momentum, and fell in the third and deciding set.
But these losses do not mean the end of the tournament for Duke.
No. 6 Daniela Bercek, a senior, and No. 55 Melissa Mang, a sophomore, will compete in the regional tournament's main singles draw later this week. Bercek breezed through the first rounds of last year's tournament before losing the 2005 Riviera championship match to Texas Christian's Nicole Leimbach.
Plotkin and Robinson will also return to the tournament to join Bercek and Mang in doubles qualifying play.
The Riviera/ITA All-American Championships-considered the autumn's premier hard-court tournament-is the first of the season's three national collegiate championships. The main event, held Oct. 5-8 in Palisades, California, follows pre-qualifying and qualifying tournaments held at UCLA. Each of the qualifying tournaments feature draws composed of 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams.
The top eight singles players and four doubles teams from the pre-qualifying tournament will then move on to the qualifier, whose top eight singles players and four doubles teams will advance to the main draw.
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