Momentum worked in the Blue Devils’ favor Sunday morning when they defeated Brown 6-1 in the first round of the ITA Kick-off Weekend. With early doubles success fueling its winning effort against the Bears, Duke is one step closer to advancing to the final rounds of the ITA Team Indoor Nationals at Virginia Feb. 18-21.
During practice last week, the No. 7 Blue Devils (3-0) made it a point of emphasis to win doubles play, with senior Reka Zsilinszka even saying that winning in doubles “demoralizes the opponent and gives us confidence.” Duke’s success Sunday in doubles allowed it to coast to an easy victory.
“We made a little switch with our doubles lineup, we did some different things in practice this week,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I thought we did a really good job in doubles in coming out and playing aggressive and taking control of the net, which is something we’ve been talking to them about.”
These wins set the tone for the rest of the match, in which the team only lost one match. Standout performances from freshman Rachel Kahan and sophomore Mary Clayton were highlights for the Blue Devils.
“Anytime you get the doubles point, it’s great to get a quick win in singles,” Ashworth said. “Rachel came out at four and just gave Brown nothing to feed off of. To get a match really quick is a really good thing for our team. Then we were up 2-0, as Mary followed right after with another quick win.”
The Bears (0-2) didn’t go down without a fight, however. Elizabeth Plotkin struggled to top Misia Krasowski, 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8), and Monica Gorny fell in the six-spot to Jessica Harrow, 2-6, 6-1, 0-1 (11-13).
“They’re one of the best-coached teams in the country,” Ashworth said. “We’re more talented than they are, but they competed really well, fighting back in some of the second sets.... This is the first match that we’ve had this year where we’ve really needed to compete all the time.”
Duke will face Texas A&M at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The team will expect more competitive matches, though, as the Aggies are nationally ranked.
“We have to do a better job of running through the finish line,” Ashworth said. “[Monday] we’ll learn that you can’t take anything for granted. We can’t assume that someone else is going to win the match for us.”
Talent-wise, the Blue Devils feel they should be able to defeat either team, but their victory will depend on whether they maintain aggressive play for the entire match. Both Duke’s coaches and players are optimistic, though, that they have the ability to pull through against even their toughest opponents.
“Our team is doing really well,” Kahan said. “We just have to keep supporting each other and everything else should fall into place.”
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