Five Blue Devils Head To Maryland For Second Fall Tournament

DURHAM, N.C. -- Five Duke women's tennis players begin play at the Maryland Invitational Friday, matching up against players from host Maryland, LSU, Notre Dame, Washington State, West Virginia, and Yale. Fifth-ranked Daniela Bercek is the top seed in the tournament, which begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday and continues through Sunday.

Bercek, senior Lauren Archer, junior Parker Goyer and sophomore Clelia Deltour are making their first competition appearance this fall, while freshman Jessi Robinson played in one match at the William & Mary Invitational last weekend.

As the top seed in the Flight B bracket at William & Mary, Robinson advanced on a bye in the first round, defaulted in the second and advanced on a default in the consolation bracket before finally playing against Boston College's Dasha Cherkasov in the consolation finals and losing a tight match, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Robinson will compete in the singles Flight A bracket while also teaming up with Bercek in doubles Flight A to play as the No. 1 seed. Bercek and Robinson are the 11th-ranked doubles pair among NCAA Division I competitors in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's preseason poll.

Deltour also enters the tournament ranked as she was 99th on the preseason poll list. She will join Bercek and Robinson in Flight A, playing against LSU's Lauren Seamen in the first round. Bercek has a bye in the first round.

Archer will face Washington State's Amy Toth in the first round of Flight B, and Goyer will compete against Yale's Ashley Miles. The pair will team up in doubles play in Flight A.

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