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Duke Closes Regular Season With Win Over Notre Dame
4/19/2015 4:18:00 PM | Women's Tennis
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The 23rd-ranked Duke women's tennis team closed regular season play on a high note Sunday, defeating 33rd-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., 4-1. The win moved Duke to 11-3 in conference play this season, and 16-8 overall, marking the second straight year the Blue Devils defeated 11 ACC foes during the regular season.
For the fifth consecutive match, the Blue Devils went into singles with a 1-0 lead after capturing victories on two of the three doubles courts.
The tandem of senior Annie Mulholland and sophomore Chalena Scholl remained undefeated on the year after a convincing 8-2 win over Notre Dame's duo of Mary Closs and Jane Fennelly. Mulholland and Scholl put in a dominant performance as the Duke pair took an early 2-0 lead and never trailed in the contest. With the score sitting at 5-2, Mulholland and Scholl won three consecutive games to close the match, lead Duke off the doubles courts and secure their fourth win of the season.
The doubles point was earned by the 51st-ranked doubles team in the country, junior Beatrice Capra and freshman Samantha Harris. Capra and Harris downed Notre Dame's Allison Miller and Julie Vrabel, 8-4, on court two, moving the Duke pair's win streak to four straight. Miller and Vrabel took the first game, but Capra and Harris stormed back, going on a 6-1 run to take a 6-2 lead. Although the Duke duo would surrender an additional two games, Capra and Harris won two games of their own to earn the win. Capra and Harris move to a perfect 5-0 when playing on court two, and have yet to lose a conference match this year.
With the doubles point secured, the match between Duke's team of senior Ester Goldfeld and sophomore Alyssa Smith and the 22nd-ranked pair of Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson was abandoned. Kahan and Smith trailed in the match, 3-5.
Although rain would eventually force singles play indoors, the Blue Devils were able to earn the win by taking three straight singles contests to put the competition out of reach.
Smith posted strong play against Fennelly on court six, dropping her opponent, 6-1, 6-2. Smith jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set before Fennelly won her only game of the set. Smith was equally assertive in the second set, taking a 4-1 lead and allowing Fennelly to win just one additional game before Smith took back-to-back games. Smith moved to 12-14 on the year with the victory.
On court one, Capra reached double-digit singles wins after upending Gleason, 6-2, 6-4. Capra cruised in the first half of the first set, owning a 3-0 lead, before Gleason pulled within a game by winning two games of her own. Capra would not allow Gleason to get any closer in the first set, winning the final three games. The second set was a tighter contest. Capra found herself with numerous opportunities to win the match, leading 5-2. Gleason battled back, winning back-to-back games, before Capra won the final game. Capra improved to 10-8 on the season.
Harris registered the win for Duke after dropping her opponent, Vrabel, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) on court three. Harris and Vrabel proved evenly matched in the early stages of the first set, as Harris held just a one game advantage over Vrabel at 3-2. The Melbourne, Australia, native would not drop another game, winning the final four games of the set. The second set was just as evenly contested as the first, with the score knotted at 4-4. Neither competitor could earn a significant lead over the other, and with the score tied at 6-6, a tiebreak was required. Harris broke the deadlock with a strong performance in the tiebreak that allowed her to win her 10th ACC match of the year. With the win, Harris becomes just the sixth freshman in Duke history to reach double-digit wins against conference opposition.
Although the match was clinched, the competition on court five between Scholl and Miller was played out, with Scholl falling, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6. The loss marks her fourth of the season.
The remaining two contests remained unfinished, with the match already decided. The 121st-ranked Kahan trailed Closs with the score sitting at 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 1-2. On court two, 37th-ranked Goldfeld was led by Robinson, 3-6, 6-3, 0-3.
With the conclusion of regular season play, the Blue Devils prepare for the ACC Tournament. Duke garnered the third seed in the tournament with its first match set for Friday, April 24, in Cary, N.C.
#GoDuke
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