Blue Devils Knock Off No. 2 Northwestern

Wednesday, March 24

Durham, N.C.

3:00 p.m.

Duke University

Northwestern

Blue Devils Knock Off No. 2 Northwestern

3/24/2010 7:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - For the second time in two seasons, the women's tennis team played the spoiler against a highly-touted Northwestern squad, knocking off the second-ranked Wildcats in a 5-2 victory Wednesday at Ambler Stadium. After dropping the doubles point, the Blue Devils stormed back to take five of the six singles matches on their way to the upset. The victory marked the team's fourth against a nationally-ranked opponent this season, and improved its record to 13-2 on the season.

The Blue Devils debuted two new pairs in doubles play, but it was Northwestern that earned the point after taking two of the three matches. Senior Amanda Granson and sophomore Monica Gorny fell to Samantha Murray and Elena Chernyakova on court two, 8-2. The duo of senior Elizabeth Plotkin and junior Reka Zsilinszka, ranked 43rd-nationally, got off to a 2-0 start at No. 1 doubles. But Northwestern's Lauren Lui and Maria Mosolova took five straight points to close out an 8-4 victory and secure the doubles point.

The tandem of junior Ellah Nze and freshman Mary Clayton recorded the lone doubles win for Duke, defeating Linda Abu Mushrefova and Stacey Lee, 8-4, at the No. 3 position.

"We're still trying to figure out our doubles. But we know that we have six extremely good singles players," Plotkin said. "It didn't really faze us at all. We just brushed it off and played what we love to play."

In singles play, Granson quickly evened the score, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the No. 4 spot. With the win, Granson improved to 11-3 in dual matches this spring. Gorny followed Granson off the court with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles to give the Blue Devils a 2-1 lead.

Zsilinszka, ranked 52nd-nationally, rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 43 Samantha Miurray at the No. 2 spot. With the victory, Zsilinszka extended her win streak to three straight, and gave Duke a 3-1 advantage with three singles matches still to be decided. The win was also the 101st of Zsilinszka's career. She reached the 100-win milestone against William & Mary on March 21, becoming just the 18th player in Duke history to do so.

The Wildcats pulled within one as No. 11 Mosolova defeated 36th-ranked Nze on court one, 7-6, 6-0. It was just Nze's second loss of the spring season at the No. 1 position. She now owns a ledger of 6-5 against nationally ranked opponents. Nze's loss left the match up for grabs with singles matches still in contention on courts three and six.

It was Plotkin's match at the No. 3 position that would tip the scales in Duke's favor, as she battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the first set to outlast Northwestern's Lui, 7-5, 6-4. Plotkin, ranked 56th-nationally, secured the victory for the Blue Devils and improved her record to 14-1 on the season.

"Even though I got down pretty quick, I knew that I had to win," Plotkin said. "I just have to make sure that I do my job, make sure that I get my point up there."

Clayton closed out the match on court six, defeating the Wildcats' Lee, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6).

"It definitely gives us a lot of confidence, especially in the way that we won," Plotkin said of Wednesday's victory. "Last year, we beat them and that was basically what set us on the track to win the ACC's and NCAA's. This is definitely a huge win for us, and we hope that it can do for us what it did the previous year."

The loss dropped Northwestern to 13-3 in dual matches this spring, and wrapped up a tough road trip for the Big Ten team. The Wildcats suffered a 5-2 loss to top-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Tuesday. Last season, Northwestern claimed a victory over Duke in the quarterfinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's National Team Indoors. But the Blue Devils pulled an upset just weeks later, knocking off the top-ranked Wildcats, 4-3, in Evanston, Ill. That win marked the first on Duke's run to the ACC title and NCAA National Championship.

"Last year, [the upset] gave us the belief that we could beat anybody in the country, and hopefully it does the same thing," said head coach Jamie Ashworth. "Last year, they won the National Indoors and had great wins, and I think that we needed, again, to prove to ourselves that we could compete with anybody."

"For us to come out and win five singles matches, pretty convincingly, ... I think that should show our team that, win or lose doubles, we can beat anybody in the country."

Duke moved to a commanding 9-0 in matches played at home this spring, and has not suffered a loss at home since March 23, 2008. The Blue Devils will get a chance to test that record with two ACC-foes set to visit Ambler Stadium this weekend. The squad will square off against Maryland Saturday at 1 p.m., and will face Boston College Sunday at 12 p.m.

-d-u-k-e-

#8 Duke 5, #2 Northwestern 2
Mar 24, 2010 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)

Singles competition

1. #11 Maria Mosolova (NW) def. #36 Ellah Nze (DU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-0

2. #52 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. #43 Samantha Murray (NW) 6-2, 6-0

3. #56 Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) def. Lauren Lui (NW) 7-5, 6-4

4. Amanda Granson (DU) def. Kate Turvy (NW) 6-1, 6-0

5. #124 Monica Gorny (DU) def. Elena Chernyakova (NW) 6-1, 6-1

6. Mary Clayton (DU) def. Stacey Lee (NW) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)

Doubles competition

1. Lauren Lui/Maria Mosolova (NW) def. #25 Elizabeth Plotkin/Reka Zsilinszka (DU) 8-4

2. Samantha Murray/Elena Chernyakova (NW) def. Amanda Granson/Monica Gorny (DU) 8-2