Sixth-Ranked Blue Devils Stop Texas A&M

Saturday, February 21

Durham, N.C.

1:00 p.m.

Duke University

Texas A&M

Sixth-Ranked Blue Devils Stop Texas A&M

2/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.?The Duke University women's tennis team backed up its No. 6 ranking today with a 6-1 victory over No. 25 Texas A&M at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The win sets the Blue Devils up for a rematch at top-ranked Northwestern on Feb. 28.

Duke improves to 8-1 overall on the year and unbeaten at home. The Blue Devils are now 2-1 against top-25 teams with the lone loss coming to the No. 1 Wildcats.

“I knew this was going to be a tough match,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “They had lost a doubles point only once all year, they lost to Southern Cal who is really good, but they won the doubles point against them. What we're trying to get the team to understand is that if we're sixth in the country, everyone is going to play their best against us and we need to be prepared for that. We need to want that and ultimately that's what's going to make us better in the long run.”

The Blue Devils and Aggies were caught up in a tight doubles affair as Duke jumped ahead in the No. 1 spot, Texas A&M took a two-break lead at No. 2, and the third tandem stayed on serve in the early going.

Senior Melissa Mang and junior Amanda Granson used a couple early breaks to get a comfortable lead as they cruised to the 8-3 victory over Janelle Cuthbertson and Christi Liles. The win for the 16th-ranked pair was the sixth of the dual match season.

Duke sophomores Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka secured the doubles point for the Blue Devils with an 8-6 triumph over Stephanie Davidson and Morgan Frank. A late break by Nze and Zsilinszka clinched the victory for the duo and pushed their record to 8-1 on the year.

The second singles pair of Mallory Cecil and Jessi Robinson turned in a thrilling performance, rallying from 6-3 down to garner the 9-8 (7-0) win. Down a couple of breaks, Cecil and Robinson tied the score 7-7. They broke the service game of Sheri Oliver and Elze Potgieter to make it 8-7, but Texas A&M responded with a break of its own to send the match into a tie-breaker. Duke cruised from the very start of the tie-breaker, winning 7-0.

“The whole time we were getting the shots that we wanted, we were just missing a few balls we were approaching,” Robinson said. “At the same time they got really comfortable because we played the same formation. The one girl was really crafty and she was hitting angles and lobs. We just started playing different formations to give them a different look. We knew if we hung in there we could do it.”

In singles action it was Granson and Mang cruising to easy first-set victories. Playing in the fourth spot, Granson jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, winning the first set 6-1. She carried that momentum and breezed through the second set for the 6-1, 6-0 win over Janelle Cuthbertson.

Mang used a break in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead in the first set and won out for the 6-2 first set. Much like Granson, Mang used that momentum in the second set, leaping out in front 4-0. Texas A&M's Laura Santacroce got a point back, but Mang proved to be too much as she captured the 6-2, 6-1 win.

The Aggies got on the scoreboard with a win from Sheri Oliver at No. 6. Oliver dropped Duke's Robinson 6-1, 6-0 to tie the score 1-1 before Granson made it a 2-1 contest.

Looking to stay unbeaten on the year, 24th-ranked Nze won the first set 6-4 after capturing a break to go in front 4-3. Nze went up a 2-0 to start the second set and never dropped a serve to take the match 6-4, 6-3 over Morgan Frank.

“She was really consistent,” Nze said. “She had good disguise of her shots so I couldn't really tell where she was going so that kind of threw me off a little bit. Before the match I knew she was a great competitor but I was glad to get through it with a win.”

Leading 4-1 in the overall match, Zsilinszka made it 5-1 with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Christi Liles. The win pushed her record to 9-0 in duals and a team-best 19-5 overall. I

Cecil rounded out the match at No. 1, defeating No. 102 Potgieter, 6-3, 6-. She opened the match with a 3-0 lead in the first set and captured a break in the final game for the 6-3 win. Potgieter returned and battled her way back in the second set after falling behind. With Cecil serving for the set at 5-3, Potgieter broke the Blue Devils serve to make it 5-4. Trailing 40-15 in the following game, Cecil scored four straight points to capture the match 6-3, 6-4. Cecil is now 6-1 overall at No. 1 and 8-1 on the year.

Duke takes to the road for the next month. The Blue Devils start the road swing at No. 1 Northwestern on Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. The Wildcats edged Duke 4-3 in Madison, Wis. at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship a week ago.

“How lucky are we to have the opportunity to play Northwestern again,” Ashworth said. “We know exactly what to expect as far as each player, as far as their doubles teams. We'll be ready to have an exciting week of practice. We had nothing to lose last time and we need to take that same attitude into the match this coming Saturday. It's a great chance.”

#6 Duke University 6, #25 Texas A&M 1
Feb 21, 2009 at Durham, N.C. (Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #50 Mallory Cecil (DU) def. #102 Elze Potgieter (TEXAM) 6-3, 6-4

2. #24 Ellah Nze (DU) def. Morgan Frank (TEXAM) 6-4, 6-3

3. #31 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Christi Liles (TEXAM) 6-3, 6-0

4. #76 Amanda Granson (DU) def. Janelle Cuthbertson (TEXAM) 6-1, 6-0

5. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Lauren Santacroce (TEXAM) 6-2, 6-1

6. Sheri Oliver (TEXAM) def. Jessi Robinson (DU) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition

1. #16 Melissa Mang/Amanda Granson (DU) def. Janelle Cuthbertson/Christi Liles (TEXAM) 8-3

2. Jessi Robinson/Mallory Cecil (DU) def. Stephanie Davidson/Morgan Frank (TEXAM) 9-8 (7-0)

3. Ellah Nze/Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Sheri Oliver/Elze Potgieter (TEXAM) 8-6