After a slow start Wednesday, Duke managed to put together pieces to outlast its Tobacco Road rival.
The No. 9 Blue Devils (13-3, 3-1 in the ACC) came from behind, winning the last two singles matches in the third set to take down No. 18 North Carolina 4-3 at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels (14-6, 4-2) won the first point of the match by sweeping all three of the doubles matches. North Carolina and Duke traded the next four matches, leaving the Tar Heels up 3-2 in the contest with two singles contests still to be decided.
Senior Jessi Robinson and sophomore Reka Zsilinszka made sure the Blue Devils' short ride home was a happy one, clinching the Duke win with three-set victories.
After dropping her first set 6-3 to Laura Reichert at sixth singles, Robinson pulled her game together and took control of the match.
Robinson bounced back in style, taking the second and third sets 6-1, 6-0, winning her match and tying the contest 3-3.
"My shots were all there," Robinson said. "I had the short balls, and I had the balls I was putting away. I knew it was all there, I just put all the pieces together in the second and third sets. Coaches talk about leaving it all on the court-that's just what I was trying to do."
Meanwhile, a similar story was unfolding on another court, as Zsilinszka split her first two sets 6-2, 2-6. The sophomore came back with a dominant 6-1 third set to win her match at third singles and clinch the Blue Devils' victory.
Because the complex only had one scoreboard, Robinson wasn't aware of how tight the two matches were while she was playing.
"I didn't know how close it was getting, but I knew I had to pull it out," Robinson said. "Once I finished, it was great to come cheer on Zsilinszka in her last set to win the match."
Head coach Jamie Ashowrth attributed both wins to the players' change in playing style.
"Reka stopped waiting for the other girl to miss, played more aggressively up on the court," Ashworth said. "I didn't see much of Jessi's match, but I was told she played much more aggressively, too. She believed she could win-that was huge."
Ashworth, however, maintained there are still a few pieces missing from the Blue Devils' collective game that need to come together.
"We were giving away too many free points in doubles, and we're not talented enough to do that," Ashworth said. "We missed returns, missed serves and we need to work on those things the next couple days before this weekend."
The Blue Devils are happy to put their traeveling schedule behind them. This weekend, Duke will trade the road for a home crowd, returning after nine away matches to play Virginia and Virginia Tech at home.
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