It would not be going out on a limb to say that the fourth-ranked women's tennis team had a good weekend.
Duke won both of its matches by a combined score of 18-0. While doing so, the Blue Devils lost only two sets, won three times as many games as their opponents and saw one of their players record her 100th career singles victory.
Duke (18-3, 7-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) extended its winning streak to six by defeating Kentucky 9-0 on Saturday and then beating conference rival Maryland (7-8, 3-4) one day later by the same score. Neither of the Blue Devils' opponents had a ranked singles player or doubles pair, while Duke featured six ranked singles players and three ranked doubles teams.
The big story of the weekend came on Saturday versus Kentucky (11-8) at No. 2 singles. Senior Wendy Fix won her 100th career singles match, becoming only the seventh Blue Devil in school history to accomplish that feat.
At first, however, it seemed that Fix might have to wait another day to hit the triple digit win mark. Struggling with shot placement early on, Fix fell behind Kelly Brown 4-3 in the first set. Fix soon found her stride, becoming more controlled and patient. She won five games in a row and dominated the rest of the match, winning 6-4, 6-3.
"[The 100th win is] exciting in that you come in and you don't expect something like that," Fix said. "I had no idea it was my 100th win until after the match, but I really feel like it's an honor. I'm excited-100 matches is a lot."
No. 56 Kentucky came into the contest with a three-match win streak over teams ranked in the top 25, but the Wildcats were no match for the Blue Devils. Even without the aid of freshman Karin Miller, who was taking the match off to rest, the Blue Devils dominated singles play, winning five of their six matches in straight sets.
Senior Luanne Spadea was the first to strike, with an impressive 6-2, 6-0 victory over Kathy Herring at number three singles. At the number one spot, sophomore Vanessa Webb handily beat Massoumeh Enami 6-1, 6-2. Duke emerged victorious in the last three singles spots as well, as seniors Karen O' Sullivan and Diana Spadea and sophomore Kristin Sanderson all triumphed in straight sets.
"The biggest things were our doubles and our fundamentals," Duke interim coach Jamie Ashworth said. "Our 4-5-6 singles players are getting better at those positions, and in the long run that's going to help us. SEC tennis is the best tennis in the country. Any time you play a [Southeastern Conference] team they're going to be fired up, they're going to be well coached, they're going to play solid doubles, and I think our girls did a great job counteracting that."
The next day Maryland came to Durham and had no more luck than Kentucky. Duke controlled the overmatched Terps from start to finish, winning all but one of its matches in straight sets. The only surprise was that the dropped set was Karin Miller's.
Miller started Sunday's match slowly, losing the first set 4-6. For the top player in the country, playing at number two singles, the sluggish start was rather unexpected. The loss served as a wake-up call for her, as she came back to win the last two sets 6-0, 6-2.
"I think it was good for Karin Miller to struggle a little bit, to have someone push her to three sets," Ashworth said. "That's the first time in our dual-match season other than Stanford that she's been pushed. She told me during the match that [playing a close match] was good for her."
The rest of the contest was a mismatch for Duke. In only three of the 13 singles sets did the Terrapins win more than two games.
Webb continued her impressive return from a shoulder injury by defeating Lorraine Bittles 6-2, 6-2. Fix recorded her 101st victory at number three singles, winning her match 6-1, 6-2. The two Spadeas and Sanderson all won in straight sets at the fourth, fifth and sixth positions, respectively.
"Today our singles [lineup] played better than it has," Ashworth said. "I think whenever we play an ACC team our team has that belief that we're going to win. The other teams have the attitude, 'We're playing Duke, I hope we do well,' whereas we go out on the court and say, 'We are not going to lose this match'."
With both contests' outcomes determined in singles, doubles play in both matches was meaningless, but further demonstrated the Blue Devils' big advantage. The pair of Webb and Miller improved to 16-0 on the season with an 8-1 victory over the Wildcats and an 8-2 win over Maryland. Sanderson and Fix played No. 2 doubles versus Kentucky, triumphing 8-3, and No. 3 doubles versus Maryland, easily winning that match 8-1.
Ashworth experimented at number three doubles versus Kentucky, combining freshman Brooke Siebel and sophomore Libble Miller for the first time. The duo was a bit shaky, but nonetheless emerged with an 8-3 win. Finally, playing number two doubles versus Maryland was the fifth-ranked pair of O'Sullivan and Luanne Spadea, who easily won their match 8-1.
The Blue Devils have clinched first place in the ACC, and, with the win over Maryland, Duke has put itself only one match away from a perfect 8-0 season in the conference. That match will take place against Virginia, Sunday at noon at Duke Tennis Stadium.
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