COLLEGE STATION, Texas - A bit of tension and anxiety could certainly be expected of anyone about to compete for a national championship, and the Blue Devils weren't immune to some early jitters. But when a familiar song came on near the end of warm-ups, the team's nerves were calmed just in time.
"Everyone was nervous while we were warming up, but a Jimmy Buffett song came on and we all started laughing, because I am a huge fan, and they can't stand it," head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "It was great timing in helping us relax."
Cool and collected at the get-go, No. 3 Duke cruised to a 4-0 win over No. 8 California en route to winning the 2009 NCAA national title at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.
The win marked the program's first national title and the University's 10th overall team national title.
"[This team] is unbelievably resilient," Ashworth said. "I'm so proud of them... We grinded out most of the year with six players and you can't ask for anything more than what they gave every single day at practice and matches. To come through like they did today and beat a great Cal team, it's just unbelievable."
Sophomore Reka Zsilinszka-who finished the season on an individual match win streak of 16 games-was named the NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player, with junior Amanda Granson and senior Melissa Mang joining their teammate on the All-Tournament Team at the No. 4 and No. 5 slots.
"I absolutely did not see that coming at all," Zsilinszka said of her tournament honors. "When they called my name and said MVP, I was like 'Wait, what?' It's icing on the cake."
Zsilinszka helped set the early tone for Duke's success in the doubles competition, notching an 8-4 win with Ellah Nze over the Golden Bears' No. 3 pair.
Meanwhile, the No. 2 duo of freshman Mallory Cecil and senior Jessi Robinson was pitted in a tough match against Cal's Marina Cossou and Claire Ilcinkas. With Cecil and Robinson up 6-4, Ilcinkas suffered an injury to her right leg which required a trainer's attention. Ilcinkas returned to the court, but her mobility was severely limited, leaving the Golden Bears shorthanded as Cecil and Robinson rolled to an 8-5 victory. The win secured the all-important doubles point for Duke, which was an impressive 24-1 in matches this year when it won the doubles point.
"The doubles point for us this season has been absolutely huge," Zsilinszka said. "It seems like its just one point, but from our match in Miami [Apr. 19], we won 4-3 in the ACC finals because of the doubles point. That's why we were so fired up in the doubles. We had to win the doubles point. That was huge and gave us all the momentum going in."
The Blue Devils flew out of the gates in singles as well, with Zsilinszka, Cecil, Robinson, Granson and Mang all winning their opening sets. Zsilinszka said that the quick start fired up the team and built on the momentum Duke had generated in doubles.
Working quickly in the second set, Zsilinszka put away Cal's Mari Andersson 6-1, 6-2 to win the team's first singles point and raise the Blue Devils' overall point total to two. Meanwhile, Robinson fought back from an early 4-1 second set deficit, winning five straight games to earn Duke a third overall point with a 6-2, 6-4 victory. Needing only one more team point to secure a national title, fellow senior Mang roped in a forehand winner to seal a 6-1, 6-3 win and the NCAA crown.
At the end of their Duke careers, it seemed almost poetic that the team's pair of senior co-captains-Mang and Robinson-would score the match's final two points in rapid succession and close out the biggest win in the program's history.
"It hasn't quite sunk in yet, but it's unbelievable," Mang said. "I'm just so proud of these girls. To win this with Jess [Robinson] in our senior year is amazing. I could not ask for anything better."
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