Duke women's tennis advances to NCAA semifinals with 4-3 win over NC State

Champaign, Ill. — The fourth-ranked Duke women's tennis team advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the 11th time in school history and the ninth time under head coach Jamie Ashworth as the Blue Devils held off No. 6 NC State, 4-3, in the quarterfinal match Friday night at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.

"Every time we play NC State, it's a 4-3 match," said Ashworth postmatch. "It was 4-3 in March; it was 4-3 last year. We know that it's going to be a battle and we were tougher when we needed to be there at the end of the matches. It was a physical match, but at this time of year, that's what we want. We want the opportunity to be playing again, and I told the team that they've earned that right."

For the sixth time in as many matches and fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament contest, Duke took an early 1-0 lead after securing wins on two of three courts. The Blue Devils faced a bit of adversity at the start of doubles as the Wolfpack opened play by picking up a win on court two. The 24th-ranked pairing of Amelia Rajecki and Abigail Rencheli registered a 6-2 victory over No. 49 Chloe Beck and Ellie Coleman.

Duke (23-3) immediately responded as No. 14 Georgia Drummy and Karolina Berankova's notched an impressive win in flight one over NC State's pairing of Jaeda Daniel and Nell Miller – the nation's top-ranked doubles team. Drummy and Berankova seized control of their matchup early as the duo jumped out to a 5-2 advantage. The Wolfpack took the next two games to pull within one, but the Duke tandem slammed the door on the comeback bid and closed out the 6-4 win.

Just as it had in the last two matches, the doubles point came down to court three, where the duo of Margaryta Bilokin and Eliza Omirou delivered for the Blue Devils once again. Holding a slim 3-2 edge over the Wolfpack's Sophie Abrams and Priska Nugroho, Duke's upperclassmen tandem took three of the final four to collect the 6-3 decision and clinch the doubles points for Duke.

"It started with our doubles," said Ashworth. "The team really trusted and believed that we could win that doubles match and doubles point. So, I think that gave us a little bit of an energy boost, a little bit of momentum heading into the singles."

NC State (26-6) tied the overall dual match score at one apiece after No. 83 Nugroho bested freshman Emma Jackson 6-3, 6-2 on court three, but the Blue Devils quickly countered with wins on the top two singles courts.

No. 14 Drummy put Duke back in front with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over 48th-ranked Rencheli in the second slot, then No. 9 Beck followed with a win in flight one to increase the Duke lead to 3-1 in the overall team score, rallying from a set down to take down No. 11 Daniels, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. The wins marked Beck and Drummy's ninth dual match victory over a ranked opponent this season.

NC State wouldn't go away though, scoring back-to-back three-set victories to square the match at 3-3. Rajecki defeated Coleman (6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2) on court five, then Abrams was able to hold off Omirou at number six in a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (3) decision.

"We didn't get off to a great start in the singles," Ashworth noted. "But we just kept pounding away, believing and trusting, and at the end of the day, we were the tougher team."

The decider came down to court four between Kelly Chen and NC State's Miller, where the conference foes had split the first two sets – Miller pulled out a 7-6 (4) decision in the opening set, then Chen responded to take the second by a score of 6-2. With the match point and a trip to the national semifinal on the line, the battle-tested Chen delivered in the clutch once again. The 106th-ranked senior took control of the final set from the jump as she surged to a 5-1 advantage before closing out the set to score a 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2 victory.

"To have her [Kelly Chen] on the court there at the end of the match, she's proven so many times that she can come through in that position," said Ashworth when asked about Chen's play in clutch moments. "I love having her out there when we need a win. I'm proud of the effort she put out there, and across the board our whole team."

Duke advances to the national semifinal match against No. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday, May 21 at 8 p.m. ET.

"We played Oklahoma earlier in the year and lost a tough one," Ashworth added. "They took an opportunity away from us – they denied us a chance to play at ITA Indoors, and we've been looking forward to having an opportunity to play them again and see what happens."

RESULTS
Singles (3,2,1,5,6,4*)
1. #9 Chloe Beck (DU) def. #11 Jaeda Daniel (NCST) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
2. #14 Georgia Drummy (DU) def. #48 Abigail Rencheli (NCST) 7-5, 6-2
3. #83 Priska Nugroho (NCST) def. Emma Jackson (DU) 6-3, 6-2
4. #106 Kelly Chen (DU) def. Nell Miller (NCST) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-2
5. Amelia Rajecki (NCST) def. Ellie Coleman (DU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-2
6. Sophie Abrams (NCST) def. Eliza Omirou (DU) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)


Doubles (2,1,3)
1. #17 Georgia Drummy/Karolina Berankova (DU) def. #1 Jaeda Daniel/Nell Miller (NCST) 6-4
2. #24 Amelia Rajecki/Abigail Rencheli (NCST) def. #49 Chloe Beck/Ellie Coleman (DU) 6-2
3. Margaryta Bilokin/Eliza Omirou (DU) def. Sophie Abrams/Priska Nugroho (NCST) 6-3


For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".


#GoDuke

Print Friendly Version

Sponsors

Results

#1 Doubles

FINAL1

Jaeda Daniel / Nell Miller (1/-) [NCST]4

Georgia Drummy / Karolina Berankova (17/-) [DU]6

#2 Doubles

FINAL1

Amelia Rajecki / Abigail Rencheli (24/-) [NCST]6

Chloe Beck / Ellie Coleman (49/-) [DU]2

#3 Doubles

FINAL1

Sophie Abrams / Priska Nugroho [NCST]3

Margaryta Bilokin / Eliza Omirou [DU]6

Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3