Duke Closes Regular Season with 5-2 Win Over Clemson

Sunday, April 17

Clemson, S.C.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Clemson

Duke Closes Regular Season with 5-2 Win Over Clemson

4/17/2016 4:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score: Duke 5, Clemson 2

By: Duke Sports Information

CLEMSON, S.C. – The eighth-ranked Duke women's tennis team traveled to Clemson, S.C., Sunday for its ACC regular season finale and picked up a 5-2 win over 28th-ranked Clemson. With the result, the Blue Devils head into the ACC Tournament next week with an 18-5 overall record and an 11-3 conference mark.

“We needed to have a confidence-boosting win and to know we can beat good teams, especially on the road in Clemson, a place in the past where we have really struggled,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “We'll take that and keep working on the things we did well today. If we can get the points going past one or two balls, I'll take my chances against anybody with this team that we have. We just need to eliminate errors early in the points. I thought, as a whole, we were really good with that today.”

Duke established itself early in the match by securing the doubles point for the 17th time this season. The Blue Devils improved to 16-1 on the year when owning a 1-0 lead heading into singles.

The Duke duo of sophomore Samantha Harris and freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy cruised in its match against Clemson's tandem of Joana Eidukonyte and Fernanda Navarro, winning the contest on court one, 6-0. The victory marked the fourth match this season that Harris and McCarthy did not drop a game. The pair improved to 17-5 on the year with the result.

The Blue Devils successfully secured the doubles point by taking the competition on court three, as the freshman duo of Ellyse Hamlin and Jessica Ho defeated Clemson's Ayan Broomfield and Daniela Ruiz, 6-4. Hamlin and Ho won three of the first four games to post an early advantage in the match. The Clemson team won two of the next three games, cutting into Duke's lead and bringing the score to 4-3, however the Blue Devils would drop just one additional game en route to closing out the match. Hamlin and Ho own a perfect 5-0 record this season as a doubles team.

With the doubles point decided, the contest on court two between Duke's junior duo of Chalena Scholl and Alyssa Smith and Clemson's Tristen Dewar and Ally Miller-Krasilnikov remained unfinished, with the Blue Devils owning a 6-5 advantage.

“I thought that [Harris] and [McCarthy] played really smart and didn't give up a lot of free points,” Ashworth said. “They served better than they have in a long time. They did a really good job of finishing points. I think that kind of thing hits home for everybody. At two doubles, we were down 5-3, and at some match points, and we got motivated and excited at the end of doubles. I thought [Hamlin] and [Ho] did a good job, as well. Something we talked about a lot yesterday at practice was serving, hitting serve targets and not giving up free points. I think it definitely paid off today.”

In singles, Duke claimed three matches in quick succession to earn Sunday's win.

Hamlin, the 124th-ranked singles player in the country, helped extend Duke's lead to 2-0 after picking up a 6-3, 6-2 win over Miller-Krasilnikov on court four. Hamlin never trailed in the first set. With the score knotted at 2-2, the Fairfield, Conn., native won a game to go up 3-2. The two competitors exchanged games, bringing the score to 4-3, before Hamlin closed out the opening set by winning the final two games. Hamlin trailed early in the second set, 2-1, but a five-game run allowed the Blue Devil to close out the contest and earn her 14th win of the season.

Ho quickly followed Hamlin, picking up a 6-2, 6-2 win against Dewar on court five to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 advantage. Ho remained in control during both the first and second set. Ho led 4-2 late in the first set before winning back-to-back games to go up a set. In the second set, the Wexford, Pa., native dropped the first game before winning two straight. Dewar tied the match at 2-2, however a pair of holds and a pair of breaks for Ho gave her the victory. Ho extended her win streak to six matches with Sunday's result.

The match was clinched on court one, as 97th-ranked Scholl downed 40th-ranked Broomfield in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Scholl jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Broomfield stormed back and won three straight games to take a 3-2 lead. Unfazed, Scholl responded by winning four games of her own to bring the first set to a close. In the second set, Scholl once again fell behind 3-2, however just as she had done in the first set, the Pompano Beach, Fla., native won the final four games to secure the win and move her ACC record to 10-2 on the year.

Although the match was decided, the contests on courts two, three and six were played out. Forty-first ranked McCarthy fell on court two to No. 23 Eidukonyte, 6-3, 6-1, while Harris extended her win streak to double-digits with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win over Navarro. Redshirt freshman Christina Makarova fell to Ruiz on court six, 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-4) to wrap up the day's action.

With the conclusion of the regular season, the Blue Devils prepare for the ACC Tournament, which begins Wednesday, April 20 and runs through Sunday, April 24.

#GoDuke

#8 Duke 5, #28 Clemson 2

Singles competition
1. #97 Chalena Scholl (DU) def. #40 Ayan Broomfield (CU) 6-3, 6-3
2. #23 Joana Eidukonyte (CU) def. #41 Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Samantha Harris (DU) def. Fernanda Navarro (CU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
4. #124 Ellyse Hamlin (DU) def. A Miller-Krasilnikov (CU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Jessica Ho (DU) def. Tristen Dewar (CU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Daniela Ruiz (CU) def. Christina Makarova (DU) 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-4)

Doubles competition
1. Samantha Harris/Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. Joana Eidukonyte/Fernanda Navarro (CU) 6-0
2. Tristen Dewar/A Miller-Krasilnikov (CU) vs. Chalena Scholl/Alyssa Smith (DU) 5-6, unfinished
3. Ellyse Hamlin/Jessica Ho (DU) def. Ayan Broomfield/Daniela Ruiz (CU) 6-4

Match Notes:
Duke 18-5, 11-3 ACC; National ranking #8
Clemson 10-9, 8-6 ACC; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,5,1,2,3,6)