Duke Tops Northwestern, 4-1, In NCAA Sweet 16

Thursday, May 20

Athens, Ga.

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Duke University

Northwestern

Duke Tops Northwestern, 4-1, In NCAA Sweet 16

5/20/2004 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

May 20, 2004

ATHENS, GA.- With four straight singles victories, the fourth-ranked and seventh-seeded Duke women's tennis team defeated 10th-ranked Northwestern, 4-1, on Thursday in the NCAA Sweet 16 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

Duke improved to 22-4 overall, while Northwestern concluded its season at 25-5. Duke will next take on Stanford in the Elite Eight at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

The Blue Devils fell behind 1-0 after losing a tough doubles point. Duke's No. 3 tandem of Katie Blaszak and Jennifer Zika cruised to an 8-1 win over Andrea Yung and Ruth Barnes, but Northwestern came back to win at the top slot, 8-4, as third-ranked Christelle Grier and Jessica Rush defeated Julia Smith and Tory Zawacki.

It came down to the second slot as Duke's Amanda Johnson and Saras Arasu jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Alexis Prousis and Jamie Peisel battled back to win 8-6 and clinched the doubles point.

Even though the Wildcats carried the momentum into singles action it didn't show as the Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead in five of the six matches. Heading the charge was eighth-ranked Johnson picking up a 6-2, 6-3 victory over third-ranked Grier. It marked the second time this season Johnson has knocked off Grier and it is only the second dual match loss of Grier's career.

Johnson, a Bettendorf, Iowa native, now owns a 115-33 career singles record and is two wins away from moving into a tie for eighth place on Duke's all-time list.

With Duke evening the match at 1-1, freshman Kristin Cargill gave the Blue Devils their first lead of the day, 2-1, with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Connie Chiang. A product of Atlanta, Ga., Cargill picked up her 22nd win on the season and it was her fifth win in a row.

Duke was able to close out the match with victories at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions. Arasu notched a 6-3, 6-1 win over Yung at the fifth slot and Zawacki collected a 6-4, 6-3 win over Prousis at No. 6.

Zawacki, a product of Union, N.J., improved to 22-10 on the season and is now 3-0 in NCAA Tournament action. Arasu won her fifth straight singles match and is now 24-8 on the season.

With the victory today, Duke became the first team over the last three years since the NCAA changed the format of play to win a match after losing the doubles point from the NCAA Sweet 16 on.

The last time Duke and Stanford met was in the 1998 NCAA Final Four with the Blue Devils winning 5-4. Overall, Stanford leads the series 6-1.


Duke 4, Northwestern 1

Singles
No. 1 -- #8 Amanda Johnson (DU) def. #3 Cristelle Grier (NU), 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 -- #44 Jessica Rush (NU) led #112 Jennifer Zika (DU), 6-3, 5-4, DNF
No. 3 -- Tory Zawacki (DU) def. Alexis Prousis (NU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 -- Katie Blaszak (DU) led Jamie Peisel (NU), 6-0, 4-4, DNF
No. 5 -- Saras Arasu (DU) def. Andrea Yung (NU), 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 -- Kristin Cargill (DU) def. Connie Chiang (NU), 6-2, 6-0

Order of finish:  1, 6, 5, 3

Doubles
No. 1 -- #3 Grier/Rush (NU) def. Julia Smith/Zawacki (DU), 8-4
No. 2 -- Prousis/Peisel (NU) def. Johnson/Arasu (DU), 8-6
No. 3 -- Zika/Blaszak (DU) def. Yung/Ruth Barnes (NU), 8-1

Order of finish:  3, 1, 2

Duke Quotes

Jamie Ashworth

"This was a great win, especially after losing a tough doubles point. The doubles point came down to the No. 2 position and we lost after being up big early."

"We played great singles and got on them right away. I didn't really know what to expect from our team after losing the doubles point and I was very pleased with how they came out strong."

On Amanda Johnson's win:

"Amanda played unbelievable today, especially after losing a tough doubles point. To get another win against Grier is great as both of Grier's dual match loses in her career have come against Amanda."

On playing Stanford on Friday:

"I am hoping we go out and play relaxed. I am 1-1 against Stanford in my career and that is better than most people. We need to be free as we have nothing to lose."

Amanda Johnson

"I was pretty angry after losing the doubles point and I was determined to go out and play better in singles. I was hitting my shots well and luckily they were going where I wanted them to."

On playing Stanford: "It will be a good match and I am hoping that we can have a good attitude from the start."