The Blue Devils breezed by Wake Forest Wednesday, and after dropping their last three matches, the win was a welcome return to form.
Ellah Nze, Elizabeth Plotkin, Amanda Granson and Monica Gorny all made quick work of their opponents, giving Duke (18-5, 6-3 in the ACC) a 4-1 road victory against the Demon Deacons (8-13, 2-7) without the last two singles matches—Reka Zsilinszka and Mary Clayton’s—needing to be finished. Perhaps more importantly, the four winning players erased the memories of last Sunday, when all four dropped their matches against Clemson.
“It was big that the people who won today all lost in the last match,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “That was a big confidence boost.”
Granson was part of an early Duke rally and finished her match first, walking off court four after downing Wake Forest’s Emilee Malvehy in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
“We got off to a slow start, but in singles we were about to get up in the first sets on all of the courts,” Ashworth said. “I think that really set the tone for the match since we haven’t been doing that recently, even in the matches we won.”
Gorny was the next to win, crushing Katarina Reveche 6-4, 6-2. Her and Granson’s wins meant two points on the scoreboard early, setting the pace for the rest of their teammates.
Nze and Plotkin finished up things by winning their matches 6-3, 6-3 and 6-2, 6-2, respectively.
The only blemish on the day was a loss in doubles play for Duke, with the team’s top tandem of Granson and Nze falling, followed by Mary Clayton and Gorny. While the doubles loss ultimately didn’t matter, Ashworth still expressed concern about conceding the point—the first time it’s happened in the last eight matches.
“That’s the first time in a while we’ve struggled in doubles.... Hopefully we’ll get the doubles back to where it should be [this weekend],” he said.
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