Duke Wins Sixth Straight, Breezes Past Hokies

Sunday, April 5

Durham, N.C.

12:00 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Duke Wins Sixth Straight, Breezes Past Hokies

4/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.?The Duke University women's tennis team rolled to its sixth consecutive victory this afternoon, defeating ACC foe Virginia Tech 6-1 at Ambler Tennis Stadium. The ninth-ranked Blue Devils have dropped just five individual matches in the past six contests.

“We came into this weekend knowing that both Virginia and Virginia Tech are good teams,” junior Amanda Granson said. “We knew they would be two teams that would give us a hard fight so we wanted to just get on top of them and make them some quick matches so we can get ready for upcoming matches that are going to be even tougher.”

Duke improves to 17-3 overall and 7-1 in ACC action. The Blue Devils are now 9-0 at home this season.

“It feels incredible [to be at home],” Granson said. “It's so much different playing at home because we have all of our friends coming out and you can feel the crowd really getting into it. The support has been incredible so that makes a huge difference for us.”

For the second consecutive day, Duke captured the crucial doubles point by sweeping all three matches. Sophomores Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka captured their 17th win as a tandem as they dropped Yasmin Hamza and Abbey Walker 8-3 at No. 3.

The duo of Jessi Robinson and Mallory Cecil clinched the point with an 8-1 win at No. 2 and the 18th-ranked pair of senior Melissa Mang and Granson completed the sweep with an 8-5 victory in the top slot.

Duke rolled right into singles, winning five first sets and losing just seven games among those. Cecil was the first off the court for the second consecutive day. The rookie right-hander dominated Inga Beerman 6-1, 6-1 for her 17th win of the year.

Granson was not far behind her as she came away with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 4. She is now 6-2 against conference foes and 7-3 in her last 10 matches. Zsilinszka returned to her usual ways at No. 3, beating Martha Blakely 6-1, 6-0. She sports a team-best 18-2 record this season and is 37-4 all-time in dual matches at Duke.

Mang moved another step closer to her 100th career victory with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph in the fifth spot. Mang is tied with Zsilinszka at 18-2 on the season and is 97-41 for her overall career.

Adding a sixth point to the scoreboard was Robinson from the No. 6 singles spot. The Rehoboth Beach, Del. native defeated Shannon Betts 6-2, 6-4 to move to 7-1 in ACC play.

Nze battled tough, but could not fight her way back in a 6-2, 6-4 setback to Jessica Brouwer at No. 2 singles.

Duke takes a few days off before hosting Wake Forest on April 8 at 3 p.m. The Blue Devils close out the season on April 10-11, hosting perennial powers Clemson and Georgia Tech.

“We want to get a few good practices in [this coming week],” Granson said. “Wake Forest will be a tough match, they're always tough against us. With Clemson and Georgia Tech we battle them out every year. We want to make sure that we focus on fighting and giving it our best effort.”

#9 Duke University 6, #58 Virginia Tech 1
Apr 05, 2009 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)

Singles competition

1. #31 Mallory Cecil (DU) def. Inga Beermann (VT) 6-1, 6-1

2. Jessica Brouwer (VT) def. #28 Ellah Nze (DU) 6-2, 6-4

3. #40 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Martha Blakely (VT) 6-1, 6-0

4. #75 Amanda Granson (DU) def. Yasmin Hamza (VT) 6-1, 6-2

5. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Courtney Rauscher (VT) 6-2, 6-4

6. Jessi Robinson (DU) def. Shannon Betts (VT) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #18 Melissa Mang/Amanda Granson (DU) def. #55 Jessica Brouwer/Holly Johnson (VT) 8-5

2. Jessi Robinson/Mallory Cecil (DU) def. Inga Beermann/Martha Blakely (VT) 8-4

3. Ellah Nze/Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Yasmin Hamza/Abbey Walker (VT) 8-3