Women's Tennis Rolls Over Tigers, 7-0

Sunday, February 8

Durham, N.C.

12:00 p.m.

Duke University

Princeton

Women's Tennis Rolls Over Tigers, 7-0

2/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.?For the second time this weekend the Duke University tennis team rolled to a 7-0 victory, beating No. 53 Princeton at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center this afternoon. The ninth-ranked Blue Devils previously dispatched No. 30 Indiana on Feb. 6.

Duke improves to 5-0 on the season and 4-0 against nationally-ranked foes. Princeton drops to 3-3 on the season. The Blue Devils have sacrificed just three individual matches in the team's five dual matches this season.

“The whole weekend was good,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I think our doubles play is getting better, which is key. We have a good enough singles lineup that it's going to be tough for someone to beat us in three singles matches. I really wanted to use the weekend to get a lot of confidence with our doubles play and I think our doubles is just getting better and better, which is great to see.”

The Blue Devils' double squads were unstoppable once again, dropping just four games overall in the 8-0, 8-1, 8-3 triumphs for the 1-0 lead.

Sophomore duo Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka were the first off the court, smashing Princeton's Sarah Hoffman and Melissa Saiontz 8-0. The win kept Duke's tandem unbeaten at 4-0 in dual matches this season.

Rookie Mallory Cecil and senior Jessi Robinson continued the trend with an 8-1 win over Lauren McHale and Rebecca Parks. The pair has posted 8-0, 8-0, 8-1 victories this season and is 3-1 overall on the year. Duke's 20th-ranked pair of senior Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson closed out doubles play, beating Hilary Bartlett and Taylor Marable easily, 8-3.

Duke is 13-1 overall in doubles action in the five matches this season, winning the important one point before heading into singles play.

Mang rode her momentum from doubles right through her singles match. She defeated Rebecca Parks with ease, 6-1, 6-0 in the fifth spot. Mang is on an eight-match win streak and has won nine of her last 10 matches.

Seconds later, Cecil made it a 3-0 Duke lead after she dispatched Bartlett 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1. The rookie right-hander is 5-0 this season, including 3-0 in the No. 1 slot. Robinson breezed through her two-set match against Blakely Ashley with a 6-1-6-2 win to push her season record to 4-1.

After struggling to a 6-1 loss in the opening set, 43rd-ranked Nze battled back to a 6-1 second-set victory to send the match into a super tiebreaker against No. 74 McHale. Nze's second-set rally continued through the tiebreaker as she built a 7-0 lead and cruised to the 10-1 victory. The win kept the sophomore unbeaten on the year and gave the Blue Devils their 24th singles victory of the year in 27 full matches.

“She had a tough first set,” Ashworth said. “She did a great job of changing her strategy. She did a great job of being coachable, meaning that we talked about changing a couple things, using the middle of the court a little more and taking away the girl's angles and she did it and stayed with it, which is really impressive. I thought she handled herself well.”

She just stayed aggressive in the tiebreaker, make Christine come up with shots

Zsilinszka kept her record perfect in the No. 3 slot in a 6-4, 6-0 win over Marable. The first set for Zsilinszka was the toughest of the season for the junior right-hander as Marable stayed close until Zsilinszka went up a break in the seventh game and rode that to the win. It was all Duke in the second set as she cruised to the 6-0 win, her fifth blanking in a set this season.

The match closed out in grand fashion with Granson coming through in a super tiebreaker for the win. The opening set was tight as Granson and Saiontz stayed on serve through nine games. With Duke leading 5-4 and Saiontz serving, Granson captured the break to go up a set at 6-4. She opened the second set with a 2-0 lead before Saiontz battled back with a couple of breaks to tie the match with a 6-3 win.

The super tiebreaker was equally as exciting. Needing to score 10 points and win by two, Granson had the first match point at 9-6. Princeton saved three match points and had her own at 10-9 before Duke's No. 4 grabbed the win 13-11.

Duke heads to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Madison, Wis. next. The prestigious tournament runs from Feb. 13-16 and the pairings will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Duke University Tennis
Princeton vs Duke University (Feb 08, 2009)

#9 Duke University 7, #53 Princeton 0
Feb 08, 2009 at Durham, N.C. (Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. Mallory Cecil (DU) def. Hilary Bartlett (PRIN) 6-2, 6-1

2. #43 Ellah Nze (DU) def. #74 Lauren McHale (PRIN) 1-6, 6-1, 10-1

3. #56 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Taylor Marable (PRIN) 6-4, 6-0

4. #48 Amanda Granson (DU) def. Melissa Saiontz (PRIN) 6-4, 3-6, 13-11

5. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Rebecca Parks (PRIN) 6-1, 6-0

6. Jessi Robinson (DU) def. Blakely Ashley (PRIN) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #20 Amanda Granson/Melissa Mang (DU) def. #27 Hilary Bartlett/Taylor Marable (PRIN) 8-3

2. Mallory Cecil/Jessi Robinson (DU) def. Lauren McHale/Rebecca Parks (PRIN) 8-1