Duke Downs NC State, 6-1, in ACC Contest

Tuesday, April 12

Durham, N.C.

3:00 PM

Duke University

NC State

Duke Downs NC State, 6-1, in ACC Contest

4/12/2016 7:15:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score: Duke 6, NC State 1 Duke v. NC State Photo Gallery

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The eighth-ranked Duke women's tennis team closed its home slate of ACC matches Tuesday with a 6-1 win over 38th-ranked NC State in the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham, N.C. With the win, Duke's conference record improved to 10-2, marking the third consecutive season the Blue Devils earned double-digit ACC victories.

“Our goal today was to not give up anything on the court and grind out every point that we possibly could,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I thought we did a good job with that. Getting quick singles after the doubles is always a good thing, and Sam [Harris] has been great at it all year. She came out again and played a great match.”

As Duke has done over the last five matches, the Blue Devils clinched the doubles point, picking up victories on courts one and three.

The Duke pair of sophomore Samantha Harris and freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy remained perfect when competing on court one this season after defeating NC State's tandem of Martina Frantova and Tayla Stenta, 6-2. Harris and McCarthy took an early 2-1 lead, before Frantova and Tayla tied the contest at 2-2. Unfazed, Harris and McCarthy won four straight games to claim the match and pick up their 16th victory of the season. The Duke duo is a perfect 7-0 in the ACC and 12-2 in dual matches.

NC State pulled even with the Blue Devils in vying for the doubles point after the Wolfpack tandem of Joanna Nalborska and Bianca Moldovan defeated Duke's team of juniors Chalena Scholl and Alyssa Smith, 6-3. Scholl and Smith stormed out to a 3-0 lead, but the duo unsuccessfully maintained its momentum, as Nalborska and Moldovan won the next six games to claim the match and hand the Duke pair its seventh loss of the year.

With results split on courts one and two, the doubles point was decided on court three between Duke's tandem of freshmen Jessica Ho and Ellyse Hamlin and NC State's Barbara Mancera and Amanda Rebol. After falling behind, 2-1, Ho and Hamlin reestablished themselves by winning four straight games to take a 5-2 lead. Mancera and Rebol would win back-to-back games, bringing the score to 5-4, but Hamlin successfully served for the match to earn the duo's third win of the year and its second against an ACC opponent.

“I think Jess and I did a good job of communicating and making adjustments to each other,” Hamlin said. “In practice, we work on the same things, just with different people, so I feel like that sets us up to be able to play with anyone on our team.”

In singles, Duke would use a trio of straight-set victories to successfully secure the result against the Wolfpack, as the Blue Devils earned convincing wins on courts two, three and four.

Harris, on a tear as of late when competing in singles, picked up her eighth consecutive win, defeating Nalborska on court two, 6-1, 6-1. Harris conceded the first game of the match before putting together a six-game run that secured the opening set for the Melbourne, Australia, native. In the second set, Harris led, 2-0, before Nalborska won a game to cut the deficit in half. Harris calmly won the remaining four games to improve her record to 18-5 and become the first Blue Devil to reach double-digit singles wins in ACC play this year.

On court four, Ho quickly followed Harris' lead, picking up a 6-0, 6-1 win over Rebol. Ho's confidence from the first set, where she did not drop a game, continued into the second set. The Wexford, Pa., native opened second-set play by taking back-to-back games. Rebol would win a game, bringing the score to 2-1, but Ho cruised over the final four games en route to her 16th victory of the year. Similar to Harris, Ho also extended her winning streak, claiming her fifth straight.

For the second consecutive match, 124th-ranked Hamlin secured the win for the Blue Devils, picking up a 6-2, 6-1 win over Moldovan on court three. The two competitors exchanged games in the early going, but with the score knotted at 2-2, Hamlin won four straight games to earn a one-set advantage. In the second set, Hamlin never trailed, winning two of the first three games. With the score sitting at 2-1, Hamlin won the final four games necessary to claim her 13th win of the season. The Fairfield, Conn., native also improved to 2-1 all-time when competing on court three.

“It's definitely nice clinching the last two matches,” Hamlin said. “I've been struggling throughout the year, so getting that confidence back is helpful coming into the last two away matches and ACCs.”

Although the match was decided, contests on courts one, five and six were played out. Redshirt freshman Christina Makarova earned her ninth singles win of the season after defeating Stenta on court five, 6-1, 6-2. On court six, Smith fought back from a three-game deficit in the first set of her match against Mancera before taking the contest, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. In the final match of the day, No. 41 McCarthy put in a valiant effort on court one against No. 51 Frantova, but ultimately fell, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8).

The Blue Devils travel to Atlanta, Ga., Friday to take on No. 16 Georgia Tech in Duke's penultimate ACC regular-season match of the 2016 campaign. Friday's contest is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.

#GoDuke

#8 Duke 6, #38 NC State 1

Singles competition
1. #51 Martina Frantova (ST) def. #41 Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)
2. Samantha Harris (DU) def. Joanna Nalborska (ST) 6-1, 6-1
3. #124 Ellyse Hamlin (DU) def. Bianca Moldovan (ST) 6-2, 6-1
4. Jessica Ho (DU) def. Amanda Rebol (ST) 6-0, 6-1
5. Christina Makarova (DU) def. Tayla Stenta (ST) 6-1, 6-2
6. Alyssa Smith (DU) def. Barbara Mancera (ST) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Samantha Harris/Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. Martina Frantova/Tayla Stenta (ST) 6-2
2. Joanna Nalborska/Bianca Moldovan (ST) def. Chalena Scholl/Alyssa Smith (DU) 6-3
3. Jessica Ho/Ellyse Hamlin (DU) def. Barbara Mancera/Amanda Rebol (ST) 6-4

Match Notes:
NC State 12-10, 4-8; National ranking #38
Duke 17-4, 10-2; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,4,3,5,6,1)
T-2:40 A-66