Duke Improves to 5-1 With 4-0 Win Over Fresno State

Saturday, February 6

Madison, Wis.

7:30 PM

Duke University

Fresno State (Consolation Round)

Duke Improves to 5-1 With 4-0 Win Over Fresno State

2/6/2016 10:40:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Consolation Matches Results Box Score: Duke 4, Fresno State 0

By: Duke Sports Information

MADISON, Wis. – After suffering its first loss of the season last night, the 14th-ranked Duke women's tennis team rebounded admirably, defeating No. 30 Fresno State, 4-0, in a consolation round match at the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship in Madison, Wis., Saturday night. The Blue Devils improved to 5-1 on the year with the win, including 4-1 against nationally ranked opponents.

For the fourth time this season, the Blue Devils led 1-0 following the doubles matches, with Duke earning victories on courts one and two.

On court two, the doubles tandem of sophomore Samantha Harris and freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy cruised in its match against Sophie Watts and Anneka Watts, 6-0. With the victory, the Duke duo improved to 7-3 on the season.

The doubles point would be decided on court one, in the match between Duke's senior Beatrice Capra and freshman Ellyse Hamlin and Fresno State's Mayar Sherif Ahmed and Rana Sherif Ahmed. The two pairs proved evenly matched, with the set tied multiple times throughout the contest, including at 4-4. The Duke duo won back-to-back games to take the victory, improve to 11-5 on the year and provide Duke with a 1-0 advantage.

Prior to securing the doubles point, the team of juniors Chalena Scholl and Alyssa Smith fell to Fresno State's Sofya Maylsheva and Olivia Noble, 6-4. Scholl and Smith led 4-3 late in the contest, but surrendered three straight games to drop just their second match of the season.

The Blue Devils asserted themselves on the singles courts, winning three matches to secure the victory.

Scholl, the 79th-ranked singles player in the country, led Duke off the singles courts with a convincing 6-0, 6-2 win over Rana Sherif Ahmed. After not dropping a game in the first set, Scholl continued to dominate in the second set. With the second set sitting at 1-1, Scholl won three straight games to take a 4-1 advantage. Scholl would surrender just one additional game before concluding the match by winning back-to-back games. Scholl's record moves to 9-5 with Saturday's result.

The Blue Devils moved within a point of the win after Harris downed Galia Bykova, 6-3, 6-2, on court four. Harris never trailed in the first set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead before Bykova battled back to tie the set at 3-3. Harris remained composed and won three straight games to take the set. In the second set, Harris fell behind, 1-0, but won two of the next three games to tie the set at 2-2. Harris settled in and captured the final four games to secure her fifth singles win of the year.

Duke clinched the victory with McCarthy's 6-0, 6-1 win over Sophie Watts on court two. McCarthy's 18th victory of the year was dominant, as the Cary, N.C., native trailed just once throughout the entirety of the contest. After not dropping a game in the first set, McCarthy fell behind just once in the second set, 1-0, before a six-game run gave her the match and her team-best 18th win.

With the match decided, the contests on courts one, five and six remained unfinished. Capra, the 28th-ranked singles player in the country, led Mayar Sherif Ahmed, the 26th-ranked singles player, 7-5, in the first set, while freshman Ellyse Hamlin trailed Maylsheva, 6-4, 1-3 on court five. On court six, redshirt freshman Christina Makarova led Anneka Watts, 6-0, 3-2.

The Blue Devils return to competition Sunday, facing No. 9 Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

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