Playing in the first national tournament of the season, three Duke players advanced to the qualifying rounds and main draw of the Riviera/ITA All-American Tournament at Pacific Palisades, Calif. this past week.
Although the team had competed in the Wake Forest Invitational, this tournament served as a better indicator of how the Blue Devils compared nationally and helped get the players ready for spring competition.
“This is probably one of the biggest tournaments of the fall, and you’re playing people from the west coast, people you don’t get to play against in the spring,” junior Ellah Nze said. “It’s a great opportunity to play against the top players in the country and see how your game matches up against theirs.”
Nze, ranked No. 19 in the nation, fell short in the round of 16 for both singles and doubles, competing in the qualifying rounds for doubles with junior Reka Zsilinszka, and in the main draw in singles.
“I would have liked to be better, but in the main draw there were the top 30 people in the country, so each match was going to be tough,” Nze said. “I thought I played well, but on the big points, [my opponent] played better, so there was absolutely nothing I could do about that.”
The junior defeated No. 65 Vanja Corovic of Texas 6-2, 6-4 in the round of 32 before losing to No. 4 Jana Juricova of California 6-1, 6-3. In the qualifying doubles competition, Nze and Zsilinszka lost in the round of 32 to the pair of Hilary Bartlett and Taylor Marable from Princeton, 8-6.
Senior Amanda Granson, ranked No. 57 in the nation, came out victorious against No. 54 Emily Fraser from Virginia and No. 55 Alexandra Poorta from St. Mary’s to advance to the round of 16 in the qualifying draw before falling short to No. 29 Natasha Marks from Arizona 6-4, 6-1.
Despite not advancing very far in the main draw, Granson saw this past week as a good start to the season, both personally, and for her teammates.
“This was our first national tournament, and the more matches we all get under our belt, the more confidence we’ll have that we’ll play and feel better out on the courts,” Granson said. “Fall is a really important time for us to get as many matches as we can to get ready for spring and to use the tournaments to work on the things we need to.”
Duke next plays in the ITA Regionals tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C. Oct. 22.
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