The women's tennis team continued its storied stretch of conference dominance yesterday with a business-like 9-0 defeat of the Virginia Cavaliers.
The No. 4 Blue Devils (19-3, 8-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) won their 88th straight ACC match, and in the process finished off their tenth consecutive regular season league title.
Duke overpowered the Cavaliers (7-9, 2-6) up and down the lineup. With the exception of No. 1 singles, no Duke player lost more than five games.
"I think we're really confident," sophomore Vanessa Webb said. "It helps if you're really confident when you're on the court with your teammates. If they're going to win, it takes a lot of pressure off of you and you can play better."
Webb feels that, other than a little stiffness, she has completely recovered from the shoulder injury that forced her to miss part of this season.
Senior Wendy Fix, playing in her final home match at Duke Tennis Stadium, made quick work of Pam Carton at No. 4 singles, 6-0, 6-2.
"It was really exciting today," said Fix, who is ranked No. 52 in the country. "I take pride in this school, and it was fun to get one last chance to play in front of my friends.... I think I played well. I was just relaxed, having a good time. I was enjoying being here and playing."
Karin Miller, the top-ranked player in the country, was the only Duke player to struggle on the afternoon. In one of the diminutive singles matches in recent memory, Miller, who is listed at five-foot-four, dropped the first set to Virginia's four-foot-eleven Paige Boiko.
But height prevailed, as Miller used long rallies to wear down her opponent. The freshman won 11 of the final 12 games of the match to finish Boiko off, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.
"I wasn't really playing too well, but she was playing really well," Miller said. "I came through in the end of the second set and third set. I started hitting the ball a little harder, and I think she got a little tired."
Despite playing a long three-set singles match, Miller didn't even stop to catch her breath before doubles play began. She simply waited for partner Webb to join her on the court, where the duo proceeded to dispose of Emily Hill and Stacy Gingold at No. 1 doubles, 8-1. The team is now 17-0 this season.
The other matches of the afternoon showed similar overwhelming play by the Blue Devils. Duke's lineup features five of the top six singles players in the ACC (not counting Webb, who hasn't played enough matches to be ranked), as well as the conference's three top doubles teams. The depth showed against Virginia.
Webb and seniors Karen O'Sullivan, Luanne Spadea (ranked No. 53 in the country) and Diana Spadea (No. 78) all defeated their singles opponents without being remotely threatened. The same dominance showed on the doubles courts, where the fifth-ranked team of O'Sullivan and Luanne Spadea, and the No. 22 duo of Fix and sophomore Kristin Sanderson garnered easy 8-2 and 8-3 victories, respectively.
"I think we played well one through nine," Duke coach Jamie Ashworth said. "I think it was a good match for us. I think it was good for Karin to struggle a little bit and get through it... I think we played well, and we accomplished one of our goals from the beginning of the season, an undefeated home season."
The victory was the fourth-consecutive 9-0 rout for the Blue Devils, with three of those wins coming against conference opponents. Such overwhelming play builds the team's confidence, and gives the Blue Devils momentum as they prepare for next weekend's ACC Championships in Atlanta, Ga. The significance was not lost on Ashworth.
"I think a lot of ACC teams fear Duke," Ashworth said. "They see Duke on the shirt when they walk on the court, and that's such a big advantage. Now when they see our scores going into the tournament, I think that's going to be big for us."
The Blue Devils finished conference play undefeated for the eighth straight time.
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