Duke Falls to Virginia Tech, 5-2, on the Road

Sunday, March 6

Blacksburg, Va.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Smith Wins ITA Summer Circuit Event in Blacksburg

Duke Falls to Virginia Tech, 5-2, on the Road

3/6/2016 9:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The sixth-ranked Duke women's tennis team, competing in its first ACC road contest of the season, fell to No. 39 Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon, 5-2, at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Va. With the loss, Duke moves to 10-2 on the year and 3-1 in ACC play.

Two days after surrendering the doubles point to Syracuse, Duke came out with a new look in doubles, as two of the three pairings competed together for the first time this season.

Juniors Chalena Scholl and Alyssa Smith once again posted an impressive result on Sunday at the No. 3 position, as the duo downed Virginia Tech's Elena Cerezo-Codina and Sansitha Nandakumar, 6-2, to lead Duke off the doubles courts. Although neither team gained an advantage through the first four games with the score sitting at 2-2, a 4-0 Duke run allowed Scholl and Smith to pull away and secure their 10th win of the season.

The momentum of the result at the No. 3 position did not carry over to the other two doubles courts however, as the team of senior Beatrice Capra and freshman Jessica Ho fell to Virginia Tech's Francesca Fusinato and Kelly Williford, 6-2, on court one. Duke's duo of sophomore Samantha Harris and freshman Ellyse Hamlin also dropped its match against Caroline Daxhelet and Raluca Mita by a score of 7-6 (7-3) on court two.

Capra and Ho, competing as a doubles team for the first time this season, sat tied with Fusinato and Williford, 2-2. The Hokie pair settled in, however, and won four straight games to take the match and hand the team of Capra and Ho its first loss of the year.

With the matches on courts one and three decided, the doubles point came down to the contest on court two between Harris and Hamlin, also competing together for the first time this season, and Daxhelet and Mita. Harris and Hamlin trailed 4-1, with Daxhelet and Mita needing just two games to secure the doubles point, but the Duke pair battled back to tie the match at 5-5. After taking a 6-5 lead, Harris and Hamlin were unable to close out the contest, as the Hokie tandem once again tied the match at 6-6 and forced a tiebreaker, which it won, 7-3. With the loss, the team of Harris and Hamlin falls to 0-1 on the season.

Duke put in a valiant effort during singles play, but was unable to earn the four wins necessary to take the team match from Virginia Tech.

The Hokies extended its lead to 2-0 over the Blue Devils after redshirt freshman Christina Makarova fell to Mita on court five, 6-1, 6-0. The San Diego, Calif., native, competing at the No. 5 position for just the second time this season, was unable to catch a rhythm in her match against Mita, never leading in either set. With the result, Makarova falls to 5-2 on the year.

Scholl continued her impressive stretch of play and pulled the Blue Devils within a point of the Hokies after defeating No. 49 Fusinato on court one, 6-3, 6-4. Both Scholl and Fusinato proved evenly matched in the first set, with the two competitors exchanging the lead numerous times throughout the first six games. With the first set tied at 3-3, Scholl won three consecutive games to close out the set. Scholl never trailed in the second set, winning three of the first four games to take a 3-1 lead. With the score sitting at 5-2, Fusinato won back-to-back games, bringing the score to 5-4, but Scholl successfully closed out the 10th game to earn her 14th singles victory of the year and her second straight at the No. 1 position.

Duke tied the match at 2-2 after Smith earned a 6-3, 6-4 victory on court six against Nandakumar. In the early stages of the contest, Smith found herself with a 3-1 deficit that she overcame by winning the final five games of the first set. In the second set, neither competitor gained a significant advantage over the other, but with the score at 3-3, Smith took three of the next four contests to secure her eighthvictory of the year and remain undefeated when competing at the No. 6 position.

The Hokies once again pulled ahead of the Blue Devils however, after Harris suffered a 7-6, 6-1 loss against Cerezo-Codina at the No. 2 position. Harris looked to be in control during the first set, storming out to a 5-1 lead, but the four-game lead proved surmountable for Cerezo-Codina, who won five of the next six games to force a tiebreaker, which she ultimately won. Harris was unable to recover in the second set, trailing 3-1 through four games and surrendering the final three games of the set. With the result, Harris' record on the year moves to 10-5.

The match was ultimately clinched on court four, in a three-set contest between Ho and Williford. Although Ho would take the first set of the contest, Williford responded and won the final two to earn a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Ho. Ho cruised in the first set, leading 4-1. The Wexford, Pa., native would drop just one additional game before taking back-to-back games and winning the first set. Williford posted strong play in the second set that put Ho in a 3-0 hole that she was unable to overcome. In the final set, Ho fought back after trailing 5-1 to pull within a game of Williford, but was unable to tie up the match as her Hokie opponent won the final set, 6-4.

In the match on court three, 59th-ranked Hamlin withdrew, with Daxhelet leading, 6-0, 6-7 (7-4), 4-0.

The Blue Devils remain off from competition until Friday, March 18, when Duke travels to Pittsburgh, Pa., for a 4 p.m. match.

#GoDuke

Singles competition

#39 Virginia Tech 5, #6 Duke 2

Singles competition
1. Chalena Scholl (DU) def. #49 Francesca Fusinato (VT) 6-3, 6-4
2. Elena Cerezo-Codina (VT) def. Samantha Harris (DU) 7-6, 6-1
3. Caroline Daxhelet (VT) def. #59 Ellyse Hamlin (DU) 6-0, 6-7, 4-0 w/o
4. Kelly Williford (VT) def. Jessica Ho (DU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Raluca Mita (VT) def. Christina Makarova (DU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Alyssa Smith (DU) def. Sansitha Nandakumar (VT) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Francesca Fusinato/Kelly Williford (VT) def. Beatrice Capra/Jessica Ho (DU) 6-2
2. Caroline Daxhelet/Raluca Mita (VT) def. Ellyse Hamlin/Samantha Harris (DU) 7-6
3. Alyssa Smith/Chalena Scholl (DU) def. Elena Cerezo-Codina/Sansitha Nandakumar (VT) 6-2