Third-Ranked Florida Upends Seventh-Ranked Duke, 4-3, In Women's Tennis

Friday, March 22

Durham, N.C.

TBA

Duke University

Florida

Third-Ranked Florida Upends Seventh-Ranked Duke, 4-3, In Women's Tennis

3/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

March 22, 2002

DURHAM, N.C. -- Two of the top women's tennis teams in the nation battled to the very end on Friday evening with third-ranked Florida (11-0) coming out on the winning end of a 4-3 decision over seventh-ranked Duke (11-3) in the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham, N.C.

Florida got things rolling early as the Gators took a 1-0 lead with victories at the top two positions. Alexis Gordon/Julia Scaringe downed Duke's Julie DeRoo/Amanda Johnson (8-4) at the second spot, but the other two positions were hard fought 9-8 decisions. At the number one position, Florida's second-ranked tandem of Jessica/Lehnhoff/Lindsay Dawaf came back from a 7-6 deficit and two break points before winning 9-8 over Kelly McCain/Hillary Adams. It was a match that saw Duke down 4-1 and then the Blue Devils taking a 7-6 advantage before falling. The doubles match on court three was equally thrilling with Duke's duo of Katie Granson/Susie Abromeit defeating Annika Bengtsson/Zerene Reyes (9-8). The Blue Devil team of Abromeit/Granson improved to 5-0 on the season.

Duke evened the match 1-1 as Johnson, currently ranked 39th-nationally, downed 26th-ranked Dawaf (6-4, 7-5). Johnson came back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to capture the victory at the second position. Florida responded with a 6-0, 6-2 victory by 76th-ranked Gordon over Ioana Plesu (Saint-Foy, Quebec, Canada) at number four and a 7-6, 7-6 win at the fifth position by Scaringe over Granson to take a 3-1 advantage.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was the center court matchup of Duke's fourth-ranked McCain and Florida's second-ranked Lehnhoff. In the fall at the Omni Hotels National Indoor Championships, McCain cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Lehnhoff, which was the only loss for the senior from Delray Beach, Fla. Friday's match was thrilling as Lehnhoff quickly won the first set 6-4, but McCain battled back in the second to win 6-2. McCain, a product of Tampa, Fla., kept the momentum in the third set as the freshman cruised to a 6-2 victory to cut the Gator lead to 3-2. Lehnhoff now owns a 20-2 record this season with both losses coming to McCain.

Duke freshman Saras Arasu won her eighth singles match in a row to even the match 3-3 as the Tampa, Fla, native knocked off Bengtsson at number six 6-4, 0-6, 6-3. With only number three singles left, it came down to DeRoo for the Blue Devils and Reyes for the Gators. Reyes started off quickly winning the first set 6-2, but DeRoo responded with a 6-3 win in the second. DeRoo took a 4-3 advantage early, before Reyey mounted a comeback to clinch the match with a 6-4 victory.

Duke will be at home for two more matches this weekend as the Blue Devils host 21st-ranked Georgia Tech on Saturday at 11:00 AM and 35th-ranked Indiana on Sunday at 12:00 PM.

#7 Duke 5, #3 Florida

Singles
1. #4 Kelly McCain (Duke) def. #2 Jessica Lehnhoff (Florida)  4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. #39 Amanda Johnson (Duke) def. #26 Lindsay Dawaf (Florida)  6-4, 7-5
3. Zerene Reyes (Florida) def. #18 Julie DeRoo (Duke)  6-2, 3-6, 6-4
4. #76 Alexis Gordon (Florida) def. Ioana Plesu (Duke) 6-0, 6-2
5. Julia Scaringe (Florida) def. Katie Granson (Duke)  7-6, 7-6
6. Saras Arasu (Duke) def. Annika Bengtsson (Florida)  6-4, 0-6, 6-3

Doubles
1. #2 Dawaf/Lehnhoff (Florida) def. Adams/McCain (Duke) 9-8
2. Gordon/Scaringe (Florida) def. DeRoo/Johnson (Duke) 8-4
3. Granson/Abromeit (Duke) def. Bengtsson/Reyes (Florida) 9-8

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