Down 4-1 in the third set in Friday's tiebreaking match against No. 9 Miami, freshman Amanda Granson dug into her reserves and fought back Gina Sabatino to win 7-6, and then 7-2 in the tiebreaker, to snag a 4-3 victory for No. 21 Duke.
"I just kept telling myself that I'm still in this," Granson said. "I had my teammates next to me cheering me on [and] the most people out there for the entire year at that match. I fed off their energy a lot, and I focused and was able to come back and gain some momentum."
Assistant coach Stephanie Nickitas said the win over Miami was one that the team really needed heading into the last stretch of its schedule.
Granson helped the Blue Devils (10-6, 5-3 in the ACC) end a two-match losing streak and won both her singles matches Saturday in Duke's 4-3 loss to No. 17 Florida State (12-6, 5-2).
"I feel like things have been going really well recently," Granson said. "In my mind something just clicked, and I feel really tough."
Nickitas said she was very pleased with the team's doubles performances over the weekend.
The fifth-ranked tandem of senior Daniela Bercek and sophomore Melissa Mang and the duo of Granson and sophomore Jessi Robinson came away with a pair of 8-5 victories over the Hurricanes to give Duke the doubles point Friday at Ambler Stadium.
"That was really exciting," Mang said. "I played that team three times before and have never beaten them. Daniela and I just really made them play a lot and executed it really well."
Against Florida State, senior Tory Zawacki and freshman Elizabeth Plotkin put up an 8-6 victory over Ania Rynarzewska and Lauren Macfarlane, and Granson and Robinson shut down Miranda Foley and Jessica Wente, 8-2, for the doubles point at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
Singles play went back-and-forth in both matches, as Duke and Miami split 3-3, and the Blue Devils lost four of six tight matches against the Seminoles.
"We played really well, but they just got us in a couple points here and there," Nickitas said. "We would have liked to win, but it was still a great weekend. They're really improving things."
Senior Clelia Deltour, Plotkin and Granson posted Duke's three wins Friday. In Saturday's play, Deltour and Granson were the only Blue Devils to clinch points.
"Saturday was just disappointing," Mang said. "We fought so hard all the way down the line. I think it really came down to bad luck. We won the doubles, and we just got unlucky in singles. We all had some big chances, but it didn't go our way."
Next, Duke heads back on the road this week to play No. 15 Wake Forest, No. 45 N.C. State and No. 14 North Carolina.
Mang said the team will be polishing up their game in preparation for the match against the Demon Deacons Wednesday.
"We've been competing really well," she said. "We just need to execute better in big moments. We're just going to work on finishing shots and trying to cut down on unforced errors."
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