Duke Defeats UNC for 17th ACC Women’s Tennis Title

April 24, 2012 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Duke_Pic_04_24_12
Credit: GoDuke.com

After inclement weather not only moved Sunday’s Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship match out of Cary, N.C., and indoors to Wake Forest’s indoor tennis complex, Duke rallied back from a lost doubles point to win four singles matches, defeat rival North Carolina, 4-2, and claim its 17th ACC title in program history.

"Even after we didn’t play great doubles, we were on our heels a little bit, and we came out and played proud and with passion," said Duke Head Coach Jamie Ashworth. "I’m really happy for them [the team]. I’m really happy for the program overall. It’s been a couple years since we brought the trophy back to Durham, so it means a lot for all the work they’ve put in."

The second-ranked and top-seeded Blue Devils are 21-0 when winning the doubles point this season, but even that astounding record became irrelevant. North Carolina (22-6, 10-1 ACC) got a quick start, as Caroline Price & Gina Suarez-Malaguti rolled past sophomore Hanna Mar & Annie Mulholland, 8-1, in the number three doubles match. The Blue Devils countered however, as the 27th-ranked duo comprised of sophomore Rachel Kahan & Beatrice Capra collected an 8-5 win over the 69th-ranked Haley Hemm & Tessa Lyons in the number two spot.

The number one doubles match pitted Duke’s 23rd-ranked team of junior Mary Clayton & Ester Goldfeld against the Tar Heels’ third-ranked team Lauren McHale & Shinann Featherston of Rockaway Park, N.Y. The Blue Devil unit upset North Carolina’s highly-touted doubles team just 10 days prior in the regular season battle, but McHale & Featherston got a little redemption Sunday, defeating Clayton & Goldfeld, 8-3, on their way to clinching the doubles point and giving North Carolina a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.

"We were really composed after doubles," said Ashworth. "We’ve lost doubles points before, and I said it’s going to come down to trusting each other and believing in each other. It’s kind of the same thing we’ve been doing."

Kahan, the nation’s 92nd ranked player, wasted no time in her number three singles bout against the 97th-ranked Featherston, cruising to an impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory. Capra, ranked second in the country, followed up Kahan’s effort with a 6-0, 6-4 win over the 34th-ranked McHale in the number one spot to put the Blue Devils ahead 2-1.

"She’s a really tough competitor," Capra said of McHale. "This was my first ACC experience. I’ve played a lot of tournaments in my life, but I’ve never played for a team like this. I wanted to win so badly."

The Tar Heels would respond as 37th-ranked Zoe de Bruycker outlasted 111th-ranked Goldfeld in a three-set thriller in the number two spot. De Bruycker easily won the first set, 6-1, but Goldfeld responded with a 6-3 second set victory. Trailing 4-2 in the third set, Goldfeld was able to fight off North Carolina’s momentum, break de Bruycker and force a 6-6 tie-breaker. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native led 4-2 in the tie-break, but de Bruycker rallied back to finish off Goldfeld, 7-5, win the third set and tie the overall match at two apiece.

Despite the even score, Duke had already built enough momentum on courts four, five and six with each respective match in the middle of its third and deciding set. Mar, ranked 49th in the nation, won a strong first set by a 6-2 margin, but fell 6-4 to a resilient and 94th-ranked Price in the number four spot. The Burr Ridge, Ill., native made the third set count with a 6-1 win, and put Duke within one victory of clinching the match.

After dropping a tough first set, 7-6, to Lyons in the number six spot, freshman and 88th-ranked Monica Turewicz saved some of her best tennis for last. The Lake Forest, Ill., product countered with a 6-3 second set victory, before notching a 6-2 win in the deciding set to clinch the match and being hugged and congratulated by onlooking teammates.

"My mindset was she [Lyons] would have to try her best to try and beat me in the second and third sets," Turewicz said. "I knew I wasn’t going to back down. It wasn’t over. I started over from the second set and just grinded it out."

Despite six of Duke’s eight players being just freshmen or sophomores, the Blue Devils became the first team in league history with a perfect 11-0 regular season record and win the ACC Tournament.

"I felt that we’ve had a lot of success this year, but it was important that we won something," Ashworth said. "We lost in the finals of [ITA National] Indoors and this team needed to have a championship moment. I’m really proud of the way they handled themselves."

In her first season at Duke, Capra was named the ACC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player, the program’s first player to earn the honor since Mallory Cecil as part of the program’s 2009 ACC Championship victory.

"These girls have helped me so much with adjusting to college," Capra said. "I’m so happy I was able to help us win as a team, and I hope this brings us together even more."


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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