Fifth-ranked Duke Falls, 4-3, To 20th-ranked William & Mary

Wednesday, March 2

Durham, N.C.

TBA

Duke University

William & Mary

Fifth-ranked Duke Falls, 4-3, To 20th-ranked William & Mary

3/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

March 2, 2005

DURHAM, N.C.- In their fifth one-point match of the season, fifth-ranked Duke lost a heartbreaker on Wednesday as the Blue Devils fell, 4-3, to 20th-ranked William & Mary at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The Blue Devils fall to 7-3, while the Tribe improve to 7-1.

In doubles action, William & Mary cruised past the Blue Devils winning all three matches. The Tribe's tandem of 36th-ranked Megan Muth and Amy Wei jumped out quickly and defeated Duke's No. 2 team of Jackie Carleton and Katie Blaszak, 8-0. Then at No. 3, Kate Boomershine and Lena Sherbakov knocked off Parker Goyer and Clelia Deltour, 8-4, while 25th-ranked Candice Fuchs and Megan Moulton-Levy defeated Duke's Kristin Cargill and Jennifer Zika, 8-5, at No. 1.

"After the doubles matches, I told them they had to be competitively great, there was a time to be your best and it was now," said Duke Head Coach Jamie Ashworth. "You have to love the challenge and love going out to play right now because in the doubles play it didn't look like it."

In singles action, the Blue Devils kicked off the action by notching early leads in all six matches. Duke was able to even the score quickly, 1-1, as senior Saras Arasu won the first set, 6-1, against Wei before an injury forced Wei to retire.

"We did a good job starting off singles," said Ashworth. "The first 20-25 minutes of singles, every court was unbelievable. We just couldn't sustain it as the opportunities were there."

William & Mary regained the lead once again as 39th-ranked Muth made quick work of Jennifer Zika, 6-3, 6-0, at the second position to go ahead, 2-1. Zika, from Wels, Austria, had jumped out in the first set leading 2-0, but Muth rebounded to win six of the next seven games to take the first set.

Then at the sixth slot, Duke's Cargill continued her stellar play with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Lindga Yang to even the match once again, 2-2. Cargill, a sophomore from Atlanta, Ga., improved to 14-6 overall and 8-1 in dual match action this season. For the third straight time, William & Mary came back to take the lead, 3-2, with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 4 as Sherbakov knocked off Deltour. Deltour began the match going up 4-1 and even leading, 5-2, but Sherbakov came back to win five games in a row to take the first set.

Duke's 42nd-ranked Blaszak responded by picking up a key 7-5, 6-1 victory over 48th-ranked Moulton-Levy at the first position to even the match for the third time. Blaszak, a native of Fairfax, Va., improved to 9-1 in dual match play and 14-4 overall.

It all came down to court three as Duke's Carleton battled William & Mary's Fuchs. Carleton, a product of Jenkintown, Pa., was playing in her first dual match in over three weeks after being sidelined with tendinitis in her foot. In the first set, Carleton fell behind 4-3 and battled back to win 6-4, but Fuchs came back strong in the second to win easily, 6-0. The third and final set went back-and-forth and was tied, 2-2, before Carleton won three straight games to take a commanding 5-2 lead.

Carleton began suffering from cramps in her legs the rest of the match and ended up losing the next four games; seeing Fuchs take a 6-5 lead. Duke's Carleton came back strong to win the next game, 40-0, but Fuchs was too strong in the tiebreaker winning 7-4.

Duke will next host South Florida on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

#20 William & Mary 4, #5 Duke 3

Doubles
1.  #25 Candice Fuchs/Megan Moulton-Levy (W) d. Kristin Cargill/Jennifer Zika (D) 8-5
2.  #36 Megan Muth/Amy Wei (W) d. Jackie Carleton/Katie Blaszak (D) 8-0
3.  Kate Boomershine/Lena Sherbakov (W) d. Parker Goyer/Clelia Deltour (D) 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1

Singles
1.  #42 Katie Blaszak (D) d. #48 Megan Moulton-Levy (W) 7-5
2.  #39 Megan Muth (W) d. Jennifer Zika (D) 6-3, 6-0
3.  Candice Fuchs (W) d. Jackie Carleton (D) 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4)
4.  Lena Sherbakov (W) d. Clelia Deltour (D) 7-5, 6-3
5.  Saras Arasu (D) d. Amy Wei (W) 6-1, retired
6.  Kristin Cargill (D) d. Lindga Yang (W) 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 6, 4, 1, 3*