Women's Tennis Falls Short in NCAA Quarterfinals

Saturday, May 22

Athens, Ga.

2:00 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina (Quarterfinals)

Duke Women Stay at No. 7 in Latest ITA Poll

Women's Tennis Falls Short in NCAA Quarterfinals

5/22/2010 6:15:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

ATHENS, Ga. - After taking a 2-1 lead, the Duke University women's tennis team was unable to hold off second-ranked North Carolina in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament Saturday in Athens, Ga.

The tandem of senior Amanda Granson and junior Ellah Nze gave Duke the early advantage in doubles play, posting an 8-5 victory over 13th-ranked Sanaz Marand and Sophie Grabinski of North Carolina. It marked Granson and Nze's first win over the Tar Heel duo this season, as Marand and Grabinski won the matchup in both of the teams' regular season meetings.

The Blue Devils captured the crucial doubles point as sophomore Monica Gorny and freshman Mary Clayton upset the 31st-ranked pair of Katrina Tsang and Shinann Featherston at No. 2 doubles, 8-6. Gorny and Clayton garnered their 10th win of the season, giving Duke a 1-0 advantage heading into singles play.

After almost an hour of play, it was Tsang who evened the score for North Carolina, defeating 81st-ranked Plotkin on court two, 6-4, 6-3. The loss was just Plotkin's seventh this season in dual match play.

However, junior Reka Zsilinszka answered for Duke, cruising to a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles to put the Blue Devils back on top. Zsilinszka extended her win streak to a team-best 12 matches as she improved to 29-11 on the season.

The score was knotted at 2-2 as Clayton fell to the Tar Heels' Zoe De Bruycker at the No. 6 position. Clayton came out strong, but ultimately lost in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 0-6. Minutes later, North Carolina took a 3-2 lead as Gina Suarez-Malaguti defeated Granson at the No. 4 spot, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1.

With a trip to the NCAA semifinals on the line, the match came down to a pair of three-set battles on courts one and five. Gorny won a first-set tiebreaker at the No. 5 spot before dropping the second set to Shinann Featherston of North Carolina. In the decisive set, Gorny came up with a key break to take a 5-3 lead, and held on to the capture the victory, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. The win pushed Gorny to 24-12 on the season.

On court one, 47th-ranked Nze and No. 21 Marand were locked in a three-set battle to decide the match. In the third set, Nze broke serve to go up 4-3, but Marand answered with a break, and held on to narrowly win the decisive set, 6-4.

The Blue Devils' bid to repeat as NCAA Champions came to an end as the team wrapped up the 2010 campaign with a final record of 22-8. Seven of those losses came against squads that advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Meanwhile, North Carolina (30-4) moves on to the NCAA semifinals to face third-seeded Florida.

Zsilinszka and Nze will return to action in the NCAA Singles Championships on May 26 in Athens. The tandem of Nze and Granson are alternates for the doubles competition.

Singles competition

1. #6 Yasmin Schnack (UCLA) def. #47 Ellah Nze (DU) 6-0, 6-7, 6-4

2. #81 Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) def. #46 Noelle Hickey (UCLA) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6

3. #26 Andrea Remynse (UCLA) vs. #34 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) 3-6, 6-2, 1-4, unfinished

4. Amanda Granson (DU) def. Pamela Montez (UCLA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

5. Maya Johansson (UCLA) def. Monica Gorny (DU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

6. Mary Clayton (DU) def. Stephanie Hoffpauir (UCLA) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #32 Ellah Nze/Amanda Granson (DU) def. #4 Andrea Remynse/Yasmin Schnack (UCLA) 8-5

2. #38 Monica Gorny/Mary Clayton (DU) def. Noelle Hickey/Nina Pantic (UCLA) 8-3

3. Elizabeth Plotkin/Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Pamela Montez/Carling Seguso (UCLA) 8-5

-d-u-k-e-