No. 14 Duke Downs No. 26 Northwestern, 4-3

Sunday, January 31

Evanston, Ill.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Northwestern

No. 14 Duke Downs No. 26 Northwestern, 4-3

1/31/2016 4:55:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score: Duke 4, Northwestern 3

By: Duke Sports Information

EVANSTON, Ill. – The 14th-ranked Duke women's tennis team earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory over 26th-ranked Northwestern Sunday afternoon at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. With Sunday's win, the Blue Devils improved to 4-0 on the season, including a 3-0 record against nationally ranked opponents.

“We had some opportunities in doubles, and I think we played way too tentatively when we had those opportunities,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “It looked like we were sitting back and hoping Northwestern would miss. They didn't, and we need to be better than that in doubles. I thought we did a really good job of putting doubles out of our minds when we stepped onto the court for singles. We just grinded. We didn't have a great match, but we finally broke through, won a match, and you could see the confidence.”

The Blue Devils fell behind early, 1-0, after dropping the doubles point for the first time this season.

Duke and Northwestern split matches on courts two and three. The doubles tandem of sophomore Samantha Harris and freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy fell to the seventh-ranked pair of Maddie Lipp and Lee Or on court two, 6-3, while Duke's duo of junior Chalena Scholl and freshman Jessica Ho defeated Brooke Rischbieth and Manon Peri of Northwestern, 6-4. The match between Harris and McCarthy and Lipp and Or sat tied at 2-2 before the Northwestern tandem won four of the next five games. On court three, Scholl and Ho took a 2-1 advantage and never relinquished its lead en route to earning their fifth doubles win of the year.

With the contests on courts two and three completed, the doubles point would be decided on court one between Duke's 26th-ranked pair of senior Beatrice Capra and freshman Ellyse Hamlin and Northwestern's Alicia Barnett and Erin Larner. The two tandems proved evenly matched, with neither team gaining more than a one-game advantage through the first eight games. With the score tied at 4-4, Barnett and Larner won back-to-back games to clinch the doubles point and give Northwestern a 1-0 lead going into singles. With the loss, Capra and Hamlin's record moved to 10-4 this year.

Singles play would prove the deciding factor in the contest, with four of the six matches requiring three sets.

On court three, Harris suffered just her third loss of the season after falling to Barnett in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. The result on court three provided Northwestern with a 2-0 lead, while Harris' record in singles play moved to 4-3 on the year with the setback.

Scholl, the 79th-ranked singles player, put the Blue Devils on the board after outlasting her opponent, Or, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, on court four. The Pampano Beach, Fla., native won the first two games of the first set to take a 2-0 lead, but Or won three of the next four games to tie the set at 3-3. Or won the next game to break the tie and give her a lead that she would not surrender. Scholl remained composed throughout the duration of the contest however, storming out to a 4-1 lead in the second set. Scholl dropped just one additional game before closing out the set, 6-2. Scholl's momentum carried over into the third set, as she once again took an early 4-2 lead that she would hold on to for the remainder of the set. With the victory, Scholl owns an 8-5 singles record this season.

On court five, the match between 70th-ranked Hamlin and Rischbieth required three sets, but Hamlin ultimately earned the 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win to tie the score for the Blue Devils. After winning the first two games of the first set, Hamlin never relinquished the lead. In the second set, Hamlin fell behind, 4-1, and was unable to make up the difference as Rischbieth closed out the middle set by winning two of the final three games. In the third set, Hamlin once again asserted herself, opening with a hold and a break to take a 2-0 lead that Rischbieth was unable to reclaim. The victory for Hamlin moves her record to 7-2 as a Blue Devil.

Capra, the 28th-ranked singles player in the country, moved the team score to 3-2, in favor of the Blue Devils, after defeating 61st-ranked Lipp in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3. Capra won three straight games after falling behind 3-1 at the outset of the match to take a 4-3 lead. Capra and Lipp would exchange games throughout the remainder of the opening set, with ties at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6. In the tiebreak, Capra once again fell behind, 3-1, but maintained her composure in order to win six straight points and secure the first set. Capra never trailed in the second set, establishing herself by winning the first three games of the set. With Sunday's win, Capra's record moved to 6-1 on the season.

Duke successfully earned the victory after McCarthy registered her team-best 17th win of the year, defeating Larner, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, on court two. McCarthy showcased her resilience multiple times throughout the match. After falling into a 5-2 hole, McCarthy refocused and won five straight games to give her the first set, 7-5. In the second set, it was Larner who fought back from an early deficit, as McCarthy took a 4-0 lead but surrendered seven of the next eight games to drop the second set. In the final, deciding set, McCarthy once again showed no signs of panic after falling behind, 3-1. McCarthy worked herself back into the set, tying the score at 4-4, before winning the final two games to secure the victory for the Blue Devils.

“I told Kaitlyn and Ellyse to focus on their court,” Ashworth said. “The best thing they can do in those situations is take care of what they need to do to help the team. It's a different kind of pressure for the freshmen. It takes time to learn that kind of pressure, but I thought all three handled it very well on the court. It will make them better in non-pressure situations.”

Although the match was decided, the competition between Ho and Jillian Rooney on court six was played out, with Ho falling, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6. Ho dropped to 9-5 this season.

“It was a good match for us,” Ashworth said. “We needed a match like that for our three freshmen to be put in pressure situations. Hopefully it's a good learning experience and makes us better when we play next week in Madison.”

The Blue Devils return to action Friday, Feb. 5, traveling to Madison, Wis., for the 2016 ITA Division I National Women's Team Indoor Championship.

#GoDuke

Singles
1. #28 Beatrice Capra (DU) def. #61 Maddie Lipp (NU) 7-6, 6-3
2. #29 Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. Erin Larner (NU) 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
3. Alicia Barnett (NU) def. Samantha Harris (DU) 6-2, 6-3
4. #79 Chalena Scholl (DU) def. Lee Or (NU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. #70 Ellyse Hamlin (DU) def. Brooke Rischbieth (NU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
6. Jillian Rooney (NU) def. Jessica Ho (DU) 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (7-6)

Doubles
1. Alicia Barnett/Erin Larner (NU) def. #26 Beatrice Capra/Ellyse Hamlin (DU) 6-4
2. #7 Maddie Lipp/Lee Or (NU) def. Kaitlyn McCarthy/Samantha Harris (DU) 6-3
3. Chalena Scholl/Jessica Ho (DU) def. Brooke Rischbieth/Manon Peri (NU) 6-4