Duke was building a lead, and it seemed like the hosts could pull off an upset against its bitter Tobacco Road rival.
But during the biggest moments of four matches, with all the pressure on, the Blue Devils lost their grip.
No. 3 North Carolina defeated No. 10 Duke 4-1 Tuesday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium, halting the Blue Devils' momentum from a 6-1 road victory at then-No. 14 Wake Forest Saturday. Duke dropped all three tiebreakers, lost the doubles point and secured only one first-set win despite holding late leads in the opening stanza in four singles matches.
“Our emotion, all the way through, from doubles through the singles, wasn’t where it needed to be against such a quality team,” Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “We cannot afford to just come out and play, because the tennis isn’t enough.”
Duke (13-3, 6-2 in the ACC) made up for its dropped doubles point with a wave of momentum during the middle of the first sets. On court one, No. 28 Beatrice Capra led the way, winning a game on deuce against No. 1 Hayley Carter to break serve.
Capra’s three teammates to her right also won deuce points in consecutive order to give the Blue Devils a boost. Several minutes later, Duke led on four of six courts and trailed only 3-2 on court one.
Then the Tar Heels (20-2, 8-0) mounted a comeback, starting on court two. No. 92 Duke junior Chalena Sholl—who began the day 7-0 in ACC play—opened a 4-2 lead, but No. 29 Whitney Kay won the next three games and then claimed the first set on deuce with a drop shot just out of the reach of Scholl’s outstretched forehand attempt.
Redshirt freshman Christina Makarova also stumbled despite opening a 5-3 lead on court six. After cutting the deficit in half, North Carolina’s Marika Akkerman trailed 15-40 but won the next three points, forced a tiebreaker and won the extra session 7-3.
“We gave ourselves a lot of opportunities,” Ashworth said. “UNC in the big points [was] more emotional and…. played more aggressive. And we kind of retreated and were more into a mindset of, ‘We hope that they miss.’”
Five courts away, No. 78 Ellyse Hamlin earned a pivotal point on deuce to tie the match at 5-5 on court five for Duke. But Chloe Oullet-Pizer fought back and took the set 7-5. Sophomore Samantha Harris won her set to give the Blue Devils their first singles set in four tries, and eventually claimed the first singles point of the day with a 6-2, 6-3 win, but her success was largely isolated.
Capra also struggled against the top player in the country. The Ellicott City, Md., native seemed worn out for much of the match, double faulting early, moving uneasily at times on the back line and returning a first-set serve with a forehand that hit off the racket frame and sailed wide right. Capra eventually lost 6-2, 6-1, as the Tar Heels pulled ahead 2-1.
The Blue Devils nearly pulled off a comeback of their own on court three, where freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy initially trailed 4-0. No. 35 McCarthy won four straight games, was inches away from taking a 5-4 lead and eventually forced the set to a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, though, No. 53 Jessica Aney hung on to a 6-2 lead and won the first set 7-5.
“Nine months ago, that girl beat [McCarthy] pretty good, and so she’s definitely come a long way,” Ashworth said. “But she needs to be… better in big points and pressure points.”
The Tar Heels eventually won the day with another comeback from Kay and an Oullet-Pizer 7-5, 6-4 victory on court five against Hamlin. At the time of Oullet-Pizer's match-clinching win, McCarthy trailed 0-4 in the second set, while Makarova led 3-2.
North Carolina picked up its initial doubles point with victories from the No. 1-ranked duo of Kay and Carter against Capra and Harris and the 65th-ranked tandem of Kate Vialle and Aney against Scholl and Alyssa Smith, with Oullet-Pizer and Ashley Dai on court three also only a point away from a three-court sweep.
The Blue Devils—who are in the midst of a week-long stretch with three matches against ranked opponents—will visit No. 12 Virginia Friday before rounding out the week Sunday against Notre Dame.
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