Duke Dominates Temple In NCAA Tournament First Round

Friday, May 9

Durham, N.C.

10:00 a.m.

Duke University

Temple (First Round)

Women's Tennis Ranked Ninth In ITA National Poll

Duke Dominates Temple In NCAA Tournament First Round

5/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? The ninth-ranked Duke women's tennis team got off to a stellar start in NCAA Tournament play on Friday as the Blue Devils defeated Temple, 4-0, in first round action at Ambler Stadium.

Doubles play saw Duke go ahead 1-0 on victories at No. 1 and No. 3. The freshman duo of Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka posted a commanding 8-0 win over Lucie Pazderova and Theresa Stangl at the No. 3 spot before the seventh-ranked Blue Devil tandem of sophomore Amanda Granson and junior Melissa Mang defeated Anastasiia Rukavyshnykova and Christine Clermont, 8-2, at the top doubles position to clinch the initial point.

Zsilinszka, ranked 24th in the country, put the Blue Devils ahead by a 2-0 score with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Pazderova at the No. 3 slot.

Mang then raced past Clermont, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 4 to push Duke's lead to 3-0 before Granson clinched the victory with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Rukavyshnykova at the No. 4 position.

“We played well,” said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth. “It is hard because we haven't played in two and a half weeks now. I was just curious of how we would fare hitting balls in pressure situations. I am happy with how we did that but our doubles have to be better tomorrow no matter who we play. Our singles picked up right where we left off. We have played good singles all year.”

With the win, the Blue Devils improve to 19-4 on the year while Temple ends its season with a mark of 16-5.

“It was good to see us play that well in singles after coming off such a tough ACC championship loss,” said Ashworth. “It gives us some of that confidence back. Everyone is confident in our singles and they believe that no matter who we play we can win all six matches. I would like to see that mindset in our doubles tomorrow.”

Duke will take on William & Mary on Saturday, May 10 at 11 a.m. at Ambler Stadium in second round action, as the Tribe got past N.C. State, 4-0, in opening round play. Tickets are on sale at www.GoDuke.com or can be purchased at the door (Adults: $5, Students: $3).

2008 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship - First Round
Ambler Tennis Stadium, Duke University - Durham, N.C.

No. 9 Duke 4, Temple 0

Singles
1. No. 125 Tara Iyer (DU) vs. Dina Senkina (TEM) 6-1, 5-1, dnf
2. No. 21 Ellah Nze (DU) vs. Elyse Steiner (TEM) 6-2, 4-1, dnf
3. No. 24 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Lucie Pazderova (TEM) 6-1, 6-0
4. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Christine Clermont (TEM) 6-1, 6-1
5. Amanda Granson (DU) def. Anastasiia Rukavyshnykova (TEM) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jessi Robinson (DU) vs. Felicia Frazier (TEM) 6-0, 4-1, dnf
Order of finish: 3,4,5*

Doubles
1. No. 7 Granson/Mang (DU) def. Rukavyshnykova/Clermont (TEM) 8-2
2. Robinson/Iyer (DU) vs. Senkina/Steiner (TEM) 4-4, dnf
3. Nze/Zsilinszka (DU) def. Pazderova/Theresa Stangl (TEM) 8-0
Order of finish: 3,1*

No. 24 William & Mary 4, No. 33 N.C. State 0

Singles
1. Megan Moulton-Levy (WM) def. Daria Petrovic (NCSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Berkeley Brock (NCSU) vs. Katarina Zoricic (WM) 6-2, 2-6, dnf
3. Ragini Acharya (WM) def. Lenka Hojckova (NCSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Julia Roach (NCSU) vs. Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (WM) 2-6, 3-5, dnf
5. Lauren Sabacinski (WM) def. Catherine Grotz (NCSU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Neils Barringer (NCSU) vs. Carmen Pop (WM) 6-3, 4-5, dnf
Order of finish:1,5,3*

Doubles
1. Moulton-Levy/Zoricic (WM) def. Grotz/Hojckova (NCSU) 8-6
2. Acharya/Kastelaniec (WM) def. Petrovic/Brock (NCSU) 9-7
3. Roach/Barringer (NCSU) def. Pop/Sabacinski (WM) 8-6
Order of finish: 1,3,2*