One of the two streaks had to end. North Carolina entered Wednesday’s match against Duke undefeated in ACC play. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, had not lost at Ambler Stadium in 29 matches. In a marathon match befitting its significance, the No. 2 Tar Heels emerged victorious, scraping out a 4-3 win.
The day started out well for the No. 7 Blue Devils (17-3, 5-1 in the ACC) as they managed to sneak out a win in two doubles matches to secure the first point. Despite being down a break early, Elizabeth Plotkin and Reka Zsilinszka stormed back to take No. 3 doubles 8-5. Senior Amanda Granson and junior Ellah Nze couldn’t match their teammates, falling behind the Tar Heels’ top duo and never recovering. Duke eventually bowed out 8-3.
The doubles point came down to Duke’s surprise pairing of Mary Clayton and Monica Gorny at No. 2 doubles. The two only began playing together days ago but had to match up against North Carolina’s undefeated duo of Katrina Tsang and Shinann Featherston. Down 7-6, Clayton held serve, and the Blue Devils rode the momentum to an enormous 9-7 victory to start Duke’s upset bid on the right foot.
“It was by far the best doubles we’ve played all year, which was great to see,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I thought we played with a lot of emotion.”
The Blue Devils couldn’t quite carry the momentum into singles, though. Three different Duke players raced out to first-set victories, but none of the Tar Heels (20-3, 7-0) would go down without a fight. No. 39 Zsilinszka took the first set 6-4, but then had to battle through a tough second set before eventually finishing off North Carolina’s Jelena Durisic at 6-4 once again.
A big forehand winner down the line clinched a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 4 singles for Granson as she overcame No. 118 Sophie Grabinski. The upset gave Duke a 3-1 lead with three matches still up for grabs.
Senior Elizabeth Plotkin wasn’t able to clinch the victory for the Blue Devils, however, even after a hot start. She demolished No. 51 Tsang 6-2 in the first set, but then the Tar Heel senior found another gear. She passed Plotkin at the net time after time and leveled the score with a 6-2 victory of her own. Tsang then raced out to a five-game lead in the third, finally finishing off Plotkin 6-2 in the decisive frame.
Gorny’s singles match likewise went the distance. After falling 6-2 in the first, the Blue Devil sophomore came back to even things up in the second. An epic third set followed, but eventually Featherston avenged her doubles loss, pulling out the 7-5 win to even the match at three wins apiece.
The match of the night was Nze’s battle at the top of the ladder. Nze and No. 32 Sanaz Marand slugged it out, splitting the first two sets 4-6, 6-4. Marand then got an early break in the third, and quickly built a 3-0 lead. Nze could never recover, and Marand closed out the match 6-3 in the final set.
“It was really the first time all year that we just could not get up in a singles match quick,” Ashworth said. “We won some matches but we couldn’t build off the momentum. That’s something we’ve concentrated on all year. That’s something we just have to keep working on.
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