No. 7 Blue Devils Too Much For Seminoles

Friday, March 20

Tallahassee, Fl.

3:00 p.m.

Duke University

Florida State

No. 7 Blue Devils Too Much For Seminoles

3/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.?The Duke University women's tennis opened Atlantic Coast Conference action with a 6-1 victory at No. 30 Florida State. The seventh-ranked Blue Devils improve to 11-2 overall and 1-0 in conference action.

“We played really well and we were able to set a tone for the rest of the ACC season today,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “It is never been an easy place for us to play and last year's match was a tough one. I am really happy to start the ACC this way, especially coming off of a loss and a tough week of practice.”

Duke captured the doubles points, sweeping all three matches. Rookie Mallory Cecil and senior Jessi Robinson were the first off the court with an 8-2 triumph over Katie Rybakova and Noemie Scharle at No. 2. The No. 19 duo of senior Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson clinched the point, defeating Federica Suess and Jessica Sucupira 8-4 in the top spot.

Sophomore tandem Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka dropped a tough 8-7 decision to Lauren McFarlane and Bonny Davidson.

“In doubles I thought we played smart,” Ashworth said. “We didn't give away a lot of free points which we talked about before the match. We stayed aggressive which was really good to see.”

Granson tacked on another point for Duke as she cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 76 Federica Suess at No. 4. Ranked 73rd in the nation, Granson stayed aggressive throughout the match to earn her eighth win of the year.

Florida State (7-6, 0-4) got a point back with a 6-4, 6-2 win from Sucupira over Duke's Robinson 6-4, 6-2.

Duke swept the final four matches of the evening, including a comeback from Cecil at No. 1. Playing in the third slot, No.30 Zsilinszka breezed past McFarlane 6-4, 6-1, while Mang got past Ania Rynarzewska 6-4, 7-5 at No. 5 for her 12th victory of the year.

Nze battled to a 7-6, 6-4 victory against 44th-ranked Scharle to remain unbeaten at 12-0 in dual matches. She currently is ranked 23rd in the nation and is 7-2 against nationally-ranked foes in 2008-09.

Cecil rallied back from a set down to earn her 11th win of her collegiate career. Falling behind to No. 56 Rybakova 7-6 in the opening set, No. 32 Cecil answered with a 7-6 triumph to tie the match at one. Cecil controlled the deciding set to take the match 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-3.

The Blue Devils hit the courts again at eighth-ranked Miami on March 22 at 12 p.m. The Hurricanes are unbeaten in league play after defeating North Carolina 6-1 this evening.

#7 Duke University 6, #30 Florida State 1
Mar 20, 2009 at Tallahassee, Fla.

Singles competition

1. #32 Mallory Cecil (DU) def. #56 Katie Rybakova (FSU) 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3

2. #23 Ellah Nze (DU) def. #44 Noemie Scharle (FSU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4

3. #30 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Lauren McFarlane (FSU) 6-4, 6-1

4. #73 Amanda Granson (DU) def. #76 Federica Suess (FSU) 6-1, 6-3

5. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Ania Rynarzewska (FSU) 6-4, 7-5

6. Jessica Sucupira (FSU) def. Jessi Robinson (DU) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #19 Amanda Granson/Melissa Mang (DU) def. Federica Suess/Jessica Sucupira (FSU) 8-4

2. Jessi Robinson/Mallory Cecil (DU) def. Katie Rybakova/Noemie Scharle (FSU) 8-2

3. Lauren McFarlane/Bonny Davidson (FSU) def. Ellah Nze/Reka Zsilinszka (DU) 8-7 (7-5)