Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at Kitty Harrison Invitational on September 12, 2025
Women's Tennis
at Kitty Harrison Invitational
Wednesday, April 7
Durham, N.C.
3:00 p.m.
Duke University
3
vs
4
North Carolina
No. 2 Tar Heels End Blue Devils' Home Win Streak
4/7/2010 8:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C.-The Duke University women's tennis team had its 29-match home win streak snapped this evening as No. 2 North Carolina outlasted the seventh-ranked Blue Devils 4-3 in a marathon match at Ambler Tennis Stadium. Duke's last loss at home was on March 23, 2008.
Duke falls to 17-3 overall and 5-1 in conference action. The Tar Heels improve to 20-3 on the year and are 7-0 in the ACC. The win gives North Carolina the single Carlyle Cup point for women's tennis.
Doubles play got off to a roaring start, as the No. 3 pair of senior Elizabeth Plotkin and junior Reka Zsilinszka fell behind 3-0 before mounting a furious comeback for the 8-5 win. The 68th-ranked duo won the last four games of the match to move to 12-5 overall in dual matches and 4-0 in conference play.
While North Carolina evened the score with an 8-3 win on court one from 11th-ranked Sanaz Marand and Sophie Grabinski, a fierce battle was unfolding on court two. Duke's tandem of sophomore Monica Gorny and freshman Mary Clayton grabbed a 5-2 lead before the Tar Heel duo Katrina Tsang and Shinann Featherston rallied to even the match at six games apiece.
North Carolina gained a 7-6 lead on its serve, but Duke answered with a hold on its serve and broke the Tar Heels' next service to garner an 8-7 advantage. Gorny served the final game and hit the winning forehand to give Duke the crucial doubles point and 1-0 lead in the match.
"I thought that was the best doubles we've had all year," head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "We formed a new team [Monica Gorny and Mary Clayton] about 10 days ago and they won their first few matches really convincingly. So we thought we would give them a shot in a higher spot and they did great today."
North Carolina evened the score as Gina Suarez-Malaguti cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Duke's Clayton.
Zsilinszka put Duke back in front moments later with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court three. The win was Zsilinszka's eighth straight and 15th dual match victory of the season. On court four, Granson turned in an outstanding effort to beat North Carolina senior Sophie Grabinski 7-5, 6-4 and put Duke in front 3-1. Trailing 5-3 in the first set, she captured the set's final four games on her way to her fifth ACC victory of the year.
North Carolina made it a 3-2 match with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win from Katrina Tsang over Plotkin. The loss was the Duke junior's first ACC loss of the year and just her second setback in a dual match this season.
Holding a narrow 3-2 margin, Duke needed just one win from the two remaining matches on courts one and five. After losing the first set 6-2, Gorny was able to force a third set. After going shot-for-shot in the third set, North Carolina's Shinann Featherston was able earn the final break to take the match 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 and make the match 3-3.
Similar to the meeting in February, the match came down to the match between Duke's Nze and North Carolina's Marand. The Tar Heels took the first set before Nze rallied in the second. Marand got off to a quick start in the third frame, going ahead 3-0. Nze put forth a valiant effort to battle back, but the Tar Heel senior stayed strong to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 and give North Carolina the 4-3 win.
"I thought we played with a lot of emotion in doubles, which is something we have talked about," Ashworth said. "And for the first time this season we weren't able to go up early in singles and didn't use that momentum from doubles. We have a stretch now of unbelievably tough matches and we need to really use that momentum from singles."
Duke returns to action on April 10 and 11 at Georgia Tech and Clemson, respectively. Both matches are scheduled to start at 12 p.m.
#2 North Carolina 4, #7 Duke 3
Apr 07, 2010 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)
| Singles competition |
| 1. #32 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. #40 Ellah Nze (DU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 |
| 2. #51 Katrina Tsang (UNC) def. #62 Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 |
| 3. #39 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Jelena Durisic (UNC) 6-4, 6-4 |
| 4. Amanda Granson (DU) def. #118 Sophie Grabinski (UNC) 7-5, 6-4 |
| 5. Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Monica Gorny (DU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 |
| 6. Gina Suarez-Malaguti (UNC) def. Mary Clayton (DU) 6-2, 6-1 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. #11 Sophie Grabinski/Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. #42 Amanda Granson/Ellah Nze (DU) 8-3 |
| 2. Monica Gorny/Mary Clayton (DU) def. #27 Katrina Tsang/Shinann Featherston (UNC) 9-7 |
| 3. #58 Reka Zsilinszka/Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) def. Jocelyn Ffriend/Haley Hemm (UNC) 8-5 |
-d-u-k-e-
Players Mentioned
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