Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at Kitty Harrison Invitational on September 12, 2025
Women's Tennis
at Kitty Harrison Invitational
Sunday, May 16
Orlando, Fla.
7:15 PM
Duke University
4
vs
3
UCF (NCAA Sweet 16)
Blue Devils Advance to Elite 8 With Win Over No. 9 UCF
5/17/2021 1:35:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – Facing a home crowd in a neutral site match for the second straight time, Duke women's tennis earned its second-straight victory over a top-ten opponent and advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal, defeating No. 9 UCF, 4-3 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday evening.
The Blue Devils (18-6) earned the clinching victory in a thrilling three-set win by No. 39 Chloe Beck. Much like her teammate Kelly Chen did in the second round, Beck bounced back from a first set loss to finish off a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory in the final match on court. Beck won five straight games across the second and third set, building momentum for a big comeback. As fatigue set in for Beck and her opponent, service games suffered, as the match ended on five straight service breaks, but Beck secured the last one for victory.
Behind the home crowd, UCF opened an early edge, earning service breaks in all three doubles matches, holding leads of 3-1, 4-1 and 3-1 respectively. Unfazed by the crowd noise, the Blue Devils responded on courts seven and nine, as the No. 10 duo of Margaryta Bilokin/Meible Chi started a brilliant run of play, while No. 41 Chen/Georgia Drummy responded with a break right back.
While UCF earned the first doubles match against No. 9 Beck/Karolina Berankova, despite the duo winning two consecutive games after falling behind 1-5 and saving three match points, the Blue Devils had an answer for the Knights. Bilokin/Chi responded with a 6-0 run, holding serve to make it 2-3, securing their first break and never looking back, winning 6-3 to tie the doubles matches at 1-1.
In the final doubles match of the day, Chen/Drummy and their opponents Nadja Bay Christians/Evgeniya Levashova traded key service holds making the match 5-4 in favor of the Blue Devils. With the pressure on the Knights, Chen/Drummy turned up the heat, earning their second service break to secure the doubles point for the Blue Devils and take a 1-0 lead.
Much like in the win over Baylor in the second round, Chi and Drummy got off to fast starts. Chi pulled away from her opponent with a break to make it 4-2 in the first set and took the first 6-2. Another quick 3-0 start for the Weston, Fla., native proved to be enough for the victory, as she secured the second set 6-3 and gave Duke a 2-0 lead. Her win moved her into sole possession of fourth on Duke's all-time singles wins list, with 136, just six behind Reka Zsilinszka (142-33) for third place. With her two combined wins today, she would need just five more to match Zsilinszka (236) for third place in total victories at Duke.
A wild start in Drummy's match resulted in five straight service breaks between the two players, before Drummy broke the streak and took a 4-2 lead. Drummy would hang on to take the first set 6-4 and jump out to another 4-2 lead in the second. Facing pressure from her No. 38 ranked opponent and the fans, the Dublin, Ireland product weathered the storm, holding serve consistently and taking her match 6-4, 6-4 to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.
Despite a strong battle on court seven, senior Kelly Chen suffered the first loss of the day 4-6, 2-6. Facing a 5-3 deficit in the first set, Chen broke back to put the pressure on her No. 22 ranked opponent, but could not hold serve, leading to UCF's first point and a 3-1 lead.
The Knights were able to erase the deficit entirely before Beck's win, as Berankova and Bilokin fell. After a slow start, Berankova showed tremendous fight, earning two service breaks in the second set and forcing the set to 5-6. However, UCF prevailed to shave the deficit to one. Over on court 11, Bilokin also showed exceptional fight, recovering from a first set loss to cruise to a 6-1 second set victory. However, UCF secured a pivotal early break and took the decisive third set to tie the match at 3-3.
Next up for the Blue Devils will be a rematch against No. 1 North Carolina, who advanced to the Elite 8 after defeating No. 16 California, 4-0. The Blue Devils will match up against the Tar Heels on Wednesday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m.
For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".
No. 18 Duke 4, No. 9 UCF 3
Doubles
1. No. 10 Margaryta Bilokin/Meible Chi (DU) def. Marie Mattel/Rebeka Stolmar (UCF) – 6-3
2. Ksenia Kuznetsova/Valeriya Zeleva (UCF) def. No. 9 Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova (DU) – 6-3
3. No. 41 Kelly Chen/Georgia Drummy (DU) def. Nadja Bay Christians/Evgeniya Levashova (UCF) – 6-4
Singles
1. No. 22 Valeriya Zeleva (UCF) def. No. 49 Kelly Chen (DU) – 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 19 Georgia Drummy (DU) def. No. 38 Rebeka Stolmar (UCF) – 6-4, 6-4
3. No. 39 Chloe Beck (DU) def. Evgeniya Levashova (UCF) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. No. 40 Meible Chi (DU) def. Ksenia Kuznetsova (UCF) – 6-2, 6-3
5. Jaleesa Leslie (UCF) def. Margaryta Bilokin (DU) – 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
6. Nandini Sharma (UCF) def. Karolina Berankova (DU) – 6-1, 7-5
Finish:
Doubles – 2, 1, 3
Singles – 4, 2, 1, 6, 5, 3
#GoDuke
The Blue Devils (18-6) earned the clinching victory in a thrilling three-set win by No. 39 Chloe Beck. Much like her teammate Kelly Chen did in the second round, Beck bounced back from a first set loss to finish off a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory in the final match on court. Beck won five straight games across the second and third set, building momentum for a big comeback. As fatigue set in for Beck and her opponent, service games suffered, as the match ended on five straight service breaks, but Beck secured the last one for victory.
Behind the home crowd, UCF opened an early edge, earning service breaks in all three doubles matches, holding leads of 3-1, 4-1 and 3-1 respectively. Unfazed by the crowd noise, the Blue Devils responded on courts seven and nine, as the No. 10 duo of Margaryta Bilokin/Meible Chi started a brilliant run of play, while No. 41 Chen/Georgia Drummy responded with a break right back.
While UCF earned the first doubles match against No. 9 Beck/Karolina Berankova, despite the duo winning two consecutive games after falling behind 1-5 and saving three match points, the Blue Devils had an answer for the Knights. Bilokin/Chi responded with a 6-0 run, holding serve to make it 2-3, securing their first break and never looking back, winning 6-3 to tie the doubles matches at 1-1.
In the final doubles match of the day, Chen/Drummy and their opponents Nadja Bay Christians/Evgeniya Levashova traded key service holds making the match 5-4 in favor of the Blue Devils. With the pressure on the Knights, Chen/Drummy turned up the heat, earning their second service break to secure the doubles point for the Blue Devils and take a 1-0 lead.
Much like in the win over Baylor in the second round, Chi and Drummy got off to fast starts. Chi pulled away from her opponent with a break to make it 4-2 in the first set and took the first 6-2. Another quick 3-0 start for the Weston, Fla., native proved to be enough for the victory, as she secured the second set 6-3 and gave Duke a 2-0 lead. Her win moved her into sole possession of fourth on Duke's all-time singles wins list, with 136, just six behind Reka Zsilinszka (142-33) for third place. With her two combined wins today, she would need just five more to match Zsilinszka (236) for third place in total victories at Duke.
A wild start in Drummy's match resulted in five straight service breaks between the two players, before Drummy broke the streak and took a 4-2 lead. Drummy would hang on to take the first set 6-4 and jump out to another 4-2 lead in the second. Facing pressure from her No. 38 ranked opponent and the fans, the Dublin, Ireland product weathered the storm, holding serve consistently and taking her match 6-4, 6-4 to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.
Despite a strong battle on court seven, senior Kelly Chen suffered the first loss of the day 4-6, 2-6. Facing a 5-3 deficit in the first set, Chen broke back to put the pressure on her No. 22 ranked opponent, but could not hold serve, leading to UCF's first point and a 3-1 lead.
The Knights were able to erase the deficit entirely before Beck's win, as Berankova and Bilokin fell. After a slow start, Berankova showed tremendous fight, earning two service breaks in the second set and forcing the set to 5-6. However, UCF prevailed to shave the deficit to one. Over on court 11, Bilokin also showed exceptional fight, recovering from a first set loss to cruise to a 6-1 second set victory. However, UCF secured a pivotal early break and took the decisive third set to tie the match at 3-3.
Next up for the Blue Devils will be a rematch against No. 1 North Carolina, who advanced to the Elite 8 after defeating No. 16 California, 4-0. The Blue Devils will match up against the Tar Heels on Wednesday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m.
For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".
No. 18 Duke 4, No. 9 UCF 3
Doubles
1. No. 10 Margaryta Bilokin/Meible Chi (DU) def. Marie Mattel/Rebeka Stolmar (UCF) – 6-3
2. Ksenia Kuznetsova/Valeriya Zeleva (UCF) def. No. 9 Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova (DU) – 6-3
3. No. 41 Kelly Chen/Georgia Drummy (DU) def. Nadja Bay Christians/Evgeniya Levashova (UCF) – 6-4
Singles
1. No. 22 Valeriya Zeleva (UCF) def. No. 49 Kelly Chen (DU) – 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 19 Georgia Drummy (DU) def. No. 38 Rebeka Stolmar (UCF) – 6-4, 6-4
3. No. 39 Chloe Beck (DU) def. Evgeniya Levashova (UCF) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. No. 40 Meible Chi (DU) def. Ksenia Kuznetsova (UCF) – 6-2, 6-3
5. Jaleesa Leslie (UCF) def. Margaryta Bilokin (DU) – 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
6. Nandini Sharma (UCF) def. Karolina Berankova (DU) – 6-1, 7-5
Finish:
Doubles – 2, 1, 3
Singles – 4, 2, 1, 6, 5, 3
#GoDuke
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
42
Valeriya Zeleva / 0 (22/-) [UCF]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Rebeka Stolmar / 0 (38/-) [UCF]
44
#3 Singles Match
123
466
Evgeniya Levashova / 0 [UCF]
624
#4 Singles Match
12
66
Ksenia Kuznetsova / 0 [UCF]
23
#5 Singles Match
123
261
Jaleesa Leslie / 0 [UCF]
616
#6 Singles Match
12
15
Nandini Sharma / 0 [UCF]
67
Order of Finish:
4,2,1,6,5,3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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