No. 4 Duke Routs No. 67 Louisville

Saturday, January 24

Durham, N.C.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Louisville

Duke Faces Florida State, Part of College MatchDay

No. 4 Duke Routs No. 67 Louisville

1/24/2015 3:31:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The fourth-ranked Duke women's tennis team opened its weekend of play with a convincing 4-0 win over 67th-ranked Louisville Saturday afternoon in the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. With the win, Duke advances to the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Championship Match, scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils will face 54th-ranked Memphis, who defeated 60th-ranked Furman earlier in the day by a score of 4-2. The winner of the contest between Duke and Memphis will earn a spot in the 2015 ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship, scheduled for Feb. 6-9 in Charlottesville, Va.

“Louisville's a good team,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “Every single one of them hits the ball really hard. The girls form Louisville come out and swing. When they make shots, they're tough to play, especially indoors. Getting the doubles point was big. We didn't play very well at two doubles, but [Samantha Harris] and [Beatrice Capra] had a good match, and we had a good comeback at three doubles [Rachel Kahan & Annie Mulholland] after being down early. They kept their composure really well. We tried to use that to our advantage going into singles.”

Duke jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Cardinals after taking the doubles point. Duke's duo of senior Ester Goldfeld and sophomore Alyssa Smith dropped their contest against Chloe Willietts and Olivia Boesing, 6-1, but Duke's doubles pairs on courts one and three defeated their respective opponents in quick succession to take the point.

The tandem of junior Beatrice Capra and freshman Samantha Harris handily defeated the Louisville pair of Ariana Rodriguez and Manuela Velasquez, 6-2, on court one. Capra and Harris won the first three games of the contest and remained in control throughout the remainder of the set. Rodriguez and Velasquez pulled the match within a game, with the score sitting at 3-2, but Duke's pair won three straight to take the 6-2 victory. Capra and Harris moved to 2-0 in dual matches this season, with the win.

The duo of redshirt senior Rachel Kahan and senior Annie Mulholland outlasted Louisville's Elle Stokes and Ellie Gerlach, 6-3, to earn the doubles point for the Blue Devils. Kahan and Mulholland fell behind 2-3 early in the match before winning four consecutive games to take the victory. Kahan and Mulholland competed alongside one another for the first time this season.

Capra carried over her strong doubles play into her singles match, defeating Elle Stokes, 6-1, 6-0, on court one, to earn her first singles dual match win of the season. Capra took a 5-0 lead over Stokes in the first set before losing her only game of the contest. Capra remained flawless in the second set.

“Today I came out just wanting to get better,” Capra said. “When I played at William & Mary, we all came out a little nervous, especially me. I was shaking on court, but after that match, I felt like every match I play I want to improve on something and get better, so by the time ACC play starts, I'll be ready to go. Today, I just let myself play a little freer. I think I'm moving in the right direction.”

On court five, Mulholland asserted herself early in her match against Olivia Boesing, winning her first singles dual match of the season, 6-2, 6-1. The Portland, Ore., native took an early 4-0 lead before trading serves with Boesing to close out the set, 6-2. In the second set, Mulholland won three straight games to take a three game lead before Boesing won her only game of the set. Mulholland owns an overall record of 9-5 this season.

After dropping her doubles contest, Smith bounced back and clinched the win for the Blue Devils, defeating Chloe Willetts on court six, 6-3, 7-5. Smith found herself in a tight contest with Willetts, with neither gaining a significant advantage over the other in either set. Smith took a 2-0 lead, but Willetts fought back and won three straight games to reclaim a 2-3 advantage. Not deterred, Smith responded admirably, winning four consecutive games herself to take the first set. The second set of the match played out almost identically to the first, with Smith opening a 2-0 lead before Willetts strung together four straight games to put Smith in a 2-4 hole. The two players traded games to bring the second set to 3-5 before Smith collected herself and won four straight games to earn the Duke win. Smith improved to 2-0 in dual match play with the victory.

The Blue Devils return to action tomorrow, facing No. 54 Memphis at 1 p.m. in the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

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