After suffering back-to-back defeats to Georgia Tech and Miami, snapping an eight-match winning streak, Duke rebounded with consecutive victories.
The Blue Devils followed up a 4-0 rout of Florida State April 4 with a 4-3 win against No. 20 Clemson Friday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium. The victory against the Tigers was crucial for Duke’s confidence and conference positioning as the squad finishes conference play and prepares for the ACC tournament.
“As far as ACC standings go, this was a huge match for us,” Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “Coming off a good energy match with Florida State I thought [the girls] following it up with this was big. Clemson’s been in some really tough matches. [They] had a chance to beat Florida, they had a chance to beat UNC. So they came in [without] fear of playing here.”
Clemson came out strong as doubles play began, and Ashworth’s modifications to the Blue Devils’ doubles lineup at first appeared to affect his squad’s chemistry.
The Tigers (13-8, 8-4 in the ACC) recorded the first doubles win when the No. 3 tandem of Beatrice Gumulya and Jessy Rompies edged out Duke’s top duo of senior Ester Goldfeld and sophomore Alyssa Smith 8-6. Goldfeld and Smith, who originally held a 6-4 advantage, could not capitalize on several opportunities to close out the match.
“I missed a backhand on a really, really big point,” Goldfeld said. “Alyssa was trying to be as positive as she could and encouraging, but I just dwelled on [that point] for way too long.”
Senior Annie Mulholland and sophomore Chalena Scholl at the No. 3 doubles position quickly evened the match with an 8-7 (7-5) win against Joana Eidukonyte and Daniela Ruiz. Duke (14-7, 9-2) then clinched the doubles point when the 53rd-ranked tandem of Beatrice Capra and Samantha Harris defeated Romy Koelzer and Yuilynn Miao 8-6.
“This was the first time we’ve played these teams,” Ashworth said. “Its really a health thing to be honest with you. Having Chalena [Scholl] healthy gives us more options with our doubles. She and Annie did a really good job for us last year. We’ve been waiting as long as we could to enable Chalena to be able to play both singles and doubles. These double teams give us a little more flexibility, more comfort. People have played together before.”
The highly competitive doubles matches set the tone for singles.
Clemson collected its first point with No. 64 Gumulya’s 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Harris at the No. 3 spot. No. 73 Harris could never find a rhythm as she continuously committed unforced errors on her groundstrokes. On court one, Capra fell to No. 33 Koelzer 6-3, 6-2, struggling to hold serve each time she broke Koelzer.
But once again, Duke quickly answered the Tigers’ call.
Scholl, who has missed most of the season due to injury, began her match on court five firing on all cylinders. The Pompano Beach, Fla., native relied on her heavy top-spin to put away Ruiz, 6-1, 6-4.
The Blue Devils then picked up their third point when senior Rachel Kahan drubbed Rompies 6-2, 6-3 at fourth singles.
At the No. 2 spot, Goldfeld initially struggled, as she fell in an early 2-0 hole against No. 15 Eidukonyte. But the Brooklyn, N.Y., native—ranked 41st in the country—quickly found her footing and fought back to take a 3-2 lead. Goldfeld never looked back as she took the match 6-4, 6-2, clinching the win for Duke and satisfying her own expectations for the match.
“A few weeks ago I started to struggle,” Goldfeld said. “[Against] Miami and Florida State I didn’t play exactly the way I wanted to play. But we got a good week of practice in. Today was definitely a lot better in terms of me being aggressive and staying in points. Just kind of knowing when to go for my shots.”
Duke’s third loss came after the match was already decided. Despite a valiant effort, Mulholland could not hold on at the sixth position as she fell to Miao in a marathon match, 7-6 (7-0), 6-7 (5-7), 0-1 (11-13).
With their latest string of losses now behind them, the Blue Devils will look to continue their current winning streak as they travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on No. 2 North Carolina Wednesday.
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