No. 14 Blue Devils Open ACC Play with 6-1 Victory Over Louisville

Friday, February 25

Louisville, Ky.

4 p.m.

Duke University

Louisville

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 14 Blue Devils Open ACC Play with 6-1 Victory Over Louisville

2/25/2022 8:40:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 14th-ranked Duke women's tennis team opened ACC dual match play with a strong performance as the Blue Devils dispatched Louisville, 6-1, Friday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

Duke struck first and collected the doubles point behind a pair of 6-4 victories. Senior Georgia Drummy and sophomore Karolina Berankova defeated Sasha Gorchanyuk and Rhea Verma in flight one, then freshman Ellie Coleman and graduate student Eliza Omirou defeated Chelsea Sawyer and Dina Chaika on court three to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

When doubles play was halted, the 32nd-ranked tandem of junior Chloe Beck and senior Margaryta Bilokin were deadlocked with Tatiana Simova and Andrea Di Palma, 5-5.

The Blue Devils kept their foot on the gas as action shifted to singles, scoring victories in flights two, five and six. Beck, the 11th-ranked player in the country, doubled the Duke lead with a 6-2, 6-3 dub over Di Palma. Duke's freshmen added points three and four and secured the team's fifth win of the season with straight set wins beginning with No. 53 Emma Jackson's victory Simova (6-2, 6-4). Coleman clinched the match for Duke via a victory over Tyra Richardson – the rookie battled back from an early two-game deficit to take the first set (6-4), then cruised in set two (6-2) to earn the win.

Duke and Louisville played out the remaining three courts with two of the matches going to the Blue Devils. Bilokin increased the advantage to 5-0 following her triumph against Gorchanyuk. Just like Coleman, Bilokin fought back from a 1-3 deficit to collect the first set, 6-4, before taking the second set 6-2. No. 19 Drummy added one more point to the team's total via a three-set win (6-1, 2-6, 6-1) over Di Palma in flight one.

Senior Kelly Chen gave a valiant effort on court three and bounced back after dropping the first set to take set two 6-0. However, Chelsea Sawyer was able to outlast Chen in the third and took the tiebreaker 10-4 to clinch the lone point for the Cardinals.

Up Next:
The Blue Devils close their three-game road trip Sunday afternoon at Notre Dame, with the match slated for a 12 p.m. start.

RESULTS
Singles (2,5,6*,4,1,3)
1. #19 Georgia Drummy (DU) def. Andrea Di Palma (LOU) 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
2. #11 Chloe Beck (DU) def. Rhea Verma (LOU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Chelsea Sawyer (LOU) def. Kelly Chen (DU) 7-6 (7-3), 0-6, 10-4
4. Margaryta Bilokin (DU) def. Sasha Gorchanyuk (LOU) 6-4, 6-2
5. #53 Emma Jackson (DU) def. Tatiana Simova (LOU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Ellie Coleman (DU) def. Tyra Richardson (LOU) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles (1,3)
1. Georgia Drummy/Karolina Berankova (DU) def. Sasha Gorchanyuk/Rhea Verma (LOU) 6-4
2. Tatiana Simova/Andrea Di Palma (LOU) vs. #32 Chloe Beck/Margaryta Bilokin (DU) 5-5, unfinished
3. Ellie Coleman/Eliza Omirou (DU) def. Chelsea Sawyer/Dina Chaika (LOU) 6-4

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