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DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke women's tennis team rolled to a 4-0 win over Winthrop on Friday afternoon in Durham, advancing to the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament. On Saturday at 4:00 p.m., the third-ranked Blue Devils will meet South Carolina, a 4-3 winner over Pennsylvania on Friday.
Duke improves to 27-2 on the year while the Eagles fall to 19-2.
The Blue Devils claimed a 1-0 lead in the match with the doubles point as Duke earned wins at the two and three positions. Duke's Katie Blaszak, ranked 69th nationally, opened singles action with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Renata Caceres at number five.
After second-ranked Kelly McCain knocked off Renata Barreto in straight sets at the top flight, Julie DeRoo closed out the match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Paula Takahashi at number four.
The Blue Devils have now won 11 straight matches and 18 of their last 19. Duke's season win total of 27 matches a school record previously set in 1998 (27-4), 1999 (27-4) and 2001 (27-2). The victory for McCain pushes the Tampa, Fla., native to 32-2 on the year including a 24-1 ledger in dual match play. Katie Granson and Julia Smith, playing number three doubles, improved to 34-6 on the season together.
#3 Duke 4, Winthrop 0
DOUBLES
1. #8 Julie DeRoo & Amanda Johnson (Duke) vs. Jenny Andrade & Ana Simanca, DNF
2. #14 Kelly McCain & Hillary Adams (Duke) def. Paula Takahashi & Danielle Moita, 8-0
3. #60 Katie Granson & Julia Smith (Duke) def. Renata Barreto & Renata Caceres, 8-3
SINGLES
1. #2 Kelly McCain (Duke) def. Renata Barreto, 6-2, 6-1
2. #19 Amanda Johnson (Duke) vs. Ana Simanca, DNF
3. #60 Saras Arasu (Duke) vs. Jenny Andrade, DNF
4. Julie DeRoo (Duke) def. Paula Takahashi, 6-2 ,6-2
5. #69 Katie Blaszak (Duke) def. Renata Caceres, 6-0, 6-1
6. Katie Granson (Duke) vs. Danielle Moita, DNF
Order of finish: 5, 1, 4
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Post Match Comments
Duke Head Coach Jamie Ashworth
"We hit the ball ok. Tomorrow, competitively we will be better. I think it takes a little while to get used to the emotion of a ball coming back, not just in practice, but every ball coming back with a purpose. We started off a little slow with that today."
"For not playing in 19 days, I think we looked pretty good."
Winthrop Head Coach Cid Carvalho
"Our goal and my philosophy is to work with our players to make their games better. When we play one of the top teams in the nation like that, we have to really concentrate and focus in what we can do. The girls did a great job and they played up to their potential at this point. Every point they played here is great for their experience and that is how they will get better playing matches like this."
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South Carolina Advances Past Penn In NCAA Women's Tennis Action, 4-3
May 9, 2003
DURHAM, N.C. - Jodi Kenoyer's three-set win over Nikki Ptak at number two singles lifted 52nd-ranked South Carolina to a 4-3 win over 41st-ranked Pennsylvania in the opening round of the 2003 NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament held on Friday afternoon at Ambler Stadium on the Duke University campus in Durham.
The Gamecocks (14-10) advance to meet the Duke-Winthrop winner on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
South Carolina went ahead 1-0 by claiming the doubles point. Penn (15-6) responded with singles victories at the numbers one and six positions for a 2-1 advantage. The Gamecocks then sandwiched wins at three and four singles slots around a Quaker triumph at number five to even the match at 3-3.
After winning the first set, 6-3, Kenoyer dropped the second by a 6-2 count. Kenoyer then rallied from a 3-1 third-set deficit to win, 6-3, and clinch the match for the Gamecocks. South Carolina improved to 12-0 on the season when winning the doubles point.
#52 South Carolina 4, #41 Pennsylvania 3
DOUBLES
1. Kathy Boyanovich & Jodi Kenoyer (SC) def. Alice Pirsu & Raluca Ciulei, 9-7
2. Rachel Shweky & Shelah Chao (Penn) vs. Danielle Wiggins & Magda Wojkylo, DNF
3. Catherine Brown & Justine Walsh (SC) def. #55 Nikki Ptak & Raluca Ciochina, 8-5
SINGLES
1. #23 Alice Pirsu (Penn) def. Kathy Boyanovich, 6-2, 1-0, ret.
2. Jodi Kenoyer (SC) def. Nikki Ptak, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
3. Danielle Wiggins (SC) def. Raluca Ciulei, 6-1, 6-1
4. Magda Wojdylo (SC) def. Shelah Chao, 6-2, 6-3
5. Caroline Stanislawski (Penn) def. Catherine Brown, 6-3, 6-0
6. Raluca Ciochina (Penn) def. Justine Walsh, 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 6, 3, 5, 4, 2
Post Match Comments
South Carolina Head Coach Arlo Elkins:
"I thought we had a good effort in singles from everybody. We don't look for people to win every match but give forth the effort every match. Jodi has been coming through all year and when we needed her the most she did it again. Magda Wojdylo is another player who stepped up. She hasn't been feeling well this week but she stepped up to give us a boost. We just have to continue to play as well as we can and put forth 110% effort in all of our matches."
