No. 4 Duke Set to Face No. 22 Northwestern

Match 4
No. 4 Duke (3-0) vs. No. 22 Northwestern (1-1)
Sunday, Feb. 1 | 11 a.m.
Durham, N.C. | Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center

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DURHAM, N.C. – The fourth-ranked Duke women's tennis team returns to action Sunday, Feb. 1, welcoming 22nd-ranked Northwestern to the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The Blue Devils, who remain unbeaten at home since Jan. 12, 2014, look to maintain the momentum from a strong ITA Kick-Off Weekend showing. Duke moved to 3-0 this season, after defeating No. 67 Louisville, 4-0, and No. 54 Memphis, 4-0. With the two victories this past weekend, Duke earned a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, held in Charlottesville, Va. With a win Sunday, the Blue Devils would open a season with a 4-0 record for the 27th time in program history.

Northwestern Series History
The Blue Devils lead the series against the Wildcats, 16-5. Most recently, Duke defeated Northwestern, 5-2, in a mid-season match on March 26 in Durham. Duke owns a seven-match win streak over the Wildcats, dating back to Feb. 28, 2009. During the seven-match span, the Blue Devils have outscored Northwestern, 31-11, with Duke shutting out the Wildcats in two of those contests. In all 21 matches between the two programs, Duke has outscored the Wildcats, 95-48. The Blue Devils shut out Northwestern in four of those meetings. Duke opened the series against Northwestern with a 5-4 loss on March 22, 1982, before stringing together an eight-match win streak that ran from Feb. 14, 1988 through May 20, 2004.

Scouting the Wildcats
Northwestern opened the season with a 1-1 mark, starting the year with a 4-3 loss to Arizona State during the opening match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Wildcats rebounded from the defeat by upending Rice in the consolation match, 6-1. Northwestern concluded the 2013-14 season with an overall record of 20-7, including a 10-1 mark in conference play. The Wildcats field a relatively young team this season, with one senior, one junior, four sophomores and three freshmen comprising the Northwestern roster.

Two of Northwestern's doubles teams garnered early season rankings. The doubles pair of Alicia Barnett and Brooke Rischbieth headline the Wildcats' doubles lineup early this season, ranking 24th in the nation. This season, the team of Barnett and Rischbieth has compiled a 3-1 record, including a 1-1 mark against ranked opponents. Northwestern's victory over a ranked team came aginst the 14th-ranked tandem of Ronit Yurovsky and Sarah Lee of Michigan in the fall.

In addition to teaming with Barnett, Rischbieth has also paired with Rheeya Doshi to amass an overall mark of 1-0 and rank 41st on the ITA doubles list.

In singles, a slew of Wildcats posted strong fall play, including newcomer Erin Larner, who compiled a 13-4 mark in the fall and remains undefeated in dual match play in 2015. Joining Larner in staying perfect through two dual matches is Alex Chatt, who owns a 12-8 overall mark this season.

Duke in the ITA Rankings
The Duke women's tennis team remained the fourth-ranked team in the nation following its two victories over the weekend. Duke has ranked in the top five of the association's rankings since jumping from No. 10 to No. 1 in February 2014, following the team's win at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

In addition to the team ranking, two members of the squad, freshman Samantha Harris and senior Ester Goldfeld, also appear on the ITA's national singles rankings list, garnering the 55th and 87th spot, respectively. Harris concluded her first fall season of collegiate tennis with a singles record of 8-2, and at one point owned a five-match win streak. Goldfeld, an integral part of Duke's success last season, closed her fall campaign with an overall singles mark of 10-6. Both Harris and Goldfeld opened the dual match season with two straight victories.

Two Approaching 100
The Blue Devils have two singles players this season, senior Ester Goldfeld and redshirt senior Rachel Kahan, who are quickly approaching the 100-win mark. Goldfeld sits just nine singles wins shy of becoming the 24th player in Duke history to win 100 matches over her career. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native has dropped just 33 singles matches, and currently owns a career record of 91-33 (.734) while at Duke.

Kahan is also nearing the 100-win plateau, sitting at 87-17 (.836) over her Duke career. The Unionville, Conn., native has recorded 20 or more wins in all three of her seasons at Duke, and owns a team-best 28-4 (.875) conference record.

Winning Ways
All eight Blue Devils who have competed this season head into Sunday's match with momentum, as each earned a victory in their most recent appearance. Seniors Ester Goldfeld and Rachel Kahan each lead the team, with both heading into Sunday's match on a three-match win streak.

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