Duke Drops ACC Quarterfinal Match to Virginia

Friday, April 22

Cary, N.C.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia (Quarterfinals)

Duke Drops ACC Quarterfinal Match to Virginia

4/22/2016 8:40:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score: Virginia 4, Duke 2 Duke v. Virginia Photo Gallery

By: Duke Sports Information

RALEIGH, N.C. – The eighth-ranked Duke women's tennis team made a late push against 16th-ranked Virginia in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament Friday afternoon, but ultimately fell to the Cavaliers, 4-2. The contest began at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C., but rainy conditions drove the teams to NC State's four-court indoor facility at the JW Isenhour Tennis Complex.

“Virginia has, on paper, probably the best [singles players at] one and two in the country,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “If you don't win the doubles [on a four-court setup], you have that potential to be down, 3-0. They thrive on four courts, because they know mentally they can put it together. We did a great job of fighting back and giving ourselves a chance. There was definitely momentum swings on both courts. I'm proud of the way we competed, fought back and gave ourselves an opportunity.”

The Blue Devils dropped the doubles point for the seventh match this year after its doubles pairs conceded contests on courts two and three. Duke fell to 2-5 when losing the doubles point this season.

The Duke tandem of freshmen Ellyse Hamlin and Jessica Ho saw its five-match win streak come to an end Friday after falling to Virginia's Julia Elbaba and Erica Susi, 6-2. Hamlin and Ho fell into an early 3-1 hole, and although a break brought the Duke duo back within a game, Elbaba and Susi won three straight to close out the match. Hamlin and Ho dropped to 5-1 this season when competing as a doubles pair.

Virginia successfully clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (7-2) win on court two, as the Duke tandem of juniors Chalena Scholl and Alyssa Smith dropped its match against Virginia's Stephanie Nauta and Cassie Mercer. The two teams battled back and forth throughout the competition. With the score knotted at 3-3, Scholl and Smith broke Virginia's serve and then held serve to earn a 5-3 advantage. Scholl and Smith were unable to close out the contest however, as Nauta and Mercer won consecutive games to tie the match at 5-5. The two teams traded games to send the match into a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, the Blue Devils were unable to get their footing, as the Cavaliers took a commanding 4-0 lead. Although Scholl and Smith would win a point and cut into Nauta and Mercer's lead, the Virginia duo won three of the next four points to secure the win and the doubles point. With the result, the Duke tandem's record fell to 14-9.

With the doubles point decided, the contest between Duke's team of sophomore Samantha Harris and freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy and the 16th-ranked pair of Danielle Collins and Meghan Kelley of Virginia remained unfinished, with the Blue Devils up, 6-5.

In singles, the Cavaliers used wins on courts one and two to pull ahead, 3-0, but a pair of victories for the Blue Devils on courts three and four brought the match within a point. Ultimately, Virginia would earn the final point necessary to claim the match with a result coming on court six.

Virginia took a 2-0 lead over the Blue Devils after Scholl, the 55th-ranked singles player in the nation, suffered a 6-2, 6-1 loss to second-ranked Collins on court one. In the first set, Collins jumped out to an early 3-0 lead that Scholl was unable to overcome. The two competitors twice traded games, bringing the first-set score to 5-2, before Collins successfully closed out the opening set. In the second set, Scholl dropped the first game before responding and tying the set at 1-1. Scholl's momentum would not continue however, as she surrendered the remaining five games. With the result, Scholl's record moved to 21-10 on the year and 5-5 against nationally ranked opposition.

The Cavaliers extended their lead over the Blue Devils to 3-0 after 52nd-ranked McCarthy suffered a 6-0, 6-2 loss to 16th-ranked Elbaba on court two. After not winning a game in the first set, McCarthy showed signs of fight in the second, tying the set at 1-1. Although Elbaba won three-straight games, McCarthy once again cut into the deficit by winning a game and bringing the score to 4-2. McCarthy's rally ended there however, as Elbaba won the final two games to earn the win. McCarthy's record now sits at 24-11 with the loss.

Although the Cavaliers remained just one point shy of the win, the Blue Devils did not back down, as Harris earned a three-set victory over No. 85 Nauta, and Hamlin posted a three-set result of her own against Kelley.

“I told them all that they had to believe in themselves, and that they also had to trust that their teammates were putting in the same effort,” Ashworth said. “They have that belief and trust in each other. [Harris and Hamlin] both did a great job of giving us an opportunity when we were down, 3-0. They both did everything they could to give us a chance, which was all we were fighting for at that point.”

Harris extended her winning streak to 11 matches after defeating 85th-ranked Nauta, 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-3. The Melbourne, Australia, native trailed 2-0 in the early stages of the first set before winning three straight games to take the lead. Neither competitor would see a significant advantage through the rest of the opening set, with the score tied at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6, which led to a first-set tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Harris trailed, 2-0, but showed no signs of panic, as she won three straight points to earn a 3-2 lead. Harris and Nauta would exchange the lead in the tiebreak, but with the score locked at 5-5, Harris won the final two points to claim the first set. Harris never caught a rhythm in the second set, winning just one game, but she proved undeterred, as she jumped out to an insurmountable 4-1 lead in the final set. Nauta won two additional games, but Harris was able to claim the final two games necessary to secure her 21st win of the year and her third victory over a nationally ranked opponent.

Hamlin reached 15 wins on the year with her exciting 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 come-from-behind win over Kelley on court four. After losing a 2-1 lead to Kelley in the first set, Hamlin was unable to recover, as Kelley won five of the next six games to earn a one-set advantage. Hamlin fell behind 2-0 in the second set, but dug deep and put together six-consecutive games that tied the match at one set apiece. In the third, decisive set, Hamlin owned a convincing 3-0 lead. Although Kelley brought the score even by winning the next three games, Hamlin once again settled in and won three of the next four games to earn the victory and nearly pull Duke even with Virginia.

The match was clinched on court six by the Cavaliers however, in a competition between redshirt freshman Christina Makarova and Mercer. Makarova was unable to gain an advantage in either set, falling to Mercer, 6-2, 6-1. With the opening set tied at 1-1, Mercer won two of the next three games to take a 3-2 lead. Mercer would go on to win the remaining three games to close out the first set. In the second set, Makarova fell behind, 3-0, and was unable to make up the difference, as she suffered just her sixth loss of the year.

With the match decided, the contest on court five between Ho and Susi remained unfinished, with Ho leading, 6-2, 2-5.

Seeding for the NCAA Tournament is scheduled to be announced Tuesday, May 3 at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.

“We have to use the days [between now and the start of the NCAA Tournament] to our advantage,” Ashworth said. “We've played a ton of matches over the last three weeks, so we have to recover from that, but we have to begin building up and get ourselves in a position to accomplish some goals that are still in front of us.”

#GoDuke

#16 Virginia 4, #8 Duke 2

Singles competition
1. #2 Danielle Collins (VA) def. #55 Chalena Scholl (DU) 6-2, 6-1
2. #16 Julia Elbaba (VA) def. #52 Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Samantha Harris (DU) def. #85 Stephanie Nauta (VA) 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-3
4. Ellyse Hamlin (DU) def. Meghan Kelley (VA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Jessica Ho (DU) vs. Erica Susi (VA) 6-2, 2-5, unfinished
6. Cassie Mercer (VA) def. Christina Makarova (DU) 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Samantha Harris/Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. #16 Danielle Collins/Meghan Kelley (VA) 6-5
2. Stephanie Nauta/Cassie Mercer (VA) def. Chalena Scholl/Alyssa Smith (DU) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Julia Elbaba/Erica Susi (VA) def. Ellyse Hamlin/Jessica Ho (DU) 6-2

Match Notes:
Virginia 16-9; National ranking #16
Duke 18-6; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,2,3,4,6)
Moved from Cary Tennis Park to J.W. Isenhour Tennis Facility at NC State
Restart time was 2:30 pm