History called for a Michigan win.
Common sense proved otherwise.
The No. 2 ranked women's tennis team swept the Lady Wolverines (3-4), 9-0 Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., upping its series record against Michigan to 3-1 and marking the first time in series history the visiting squad has won.
It also marked the fourth match this season the Blue Devils (9-2) have won by a 9-0 margin.
"The reason for playing was to implement things in practice into match situations-being more aggressive, where to hit the ball in certain situations-things like that," coach Jamie Ashworth said. "We definitely did that [this weekend]. Everyone played well."
Although no Duke player lost a set during the match, the battle at the No. 2 singles position proved to be a test for senior Kristin Sanderson. Playing Michigan junior Danielle Lund, who was ranked inside the top 30 for part of the season, Duke's two-time All-ACC performer was able to pull out a 7-6 (7-0), 6-4 decision over the Wolverine baseliner.
"It was a really good match for Kristin; her opponent was good," Ashworth said. "Since they play similar styles as baseliners, it was good to see Kristin beat her at her own game."
While the outcome of the Duke match was nothing if not typical, the singles lineup saw a rare fluctuation as Kathy Sell, the 1998 ACC Tournament MVP who has played both No. 5 and No. 6 singles this season, was sidelined by a short-term illness.
But the Blue Devils didn't miss a beat in her absence.
Duke's freshman combination of Erica Biro and Ioana Plesu once again shone at the bottom of the singles lineup, filling in for the absent Sell, who is expected to return to practice this week. Both Blue Devils swept through their matches, pushing their combined overall match record to 28-12.
"Both of them came in in the fall not knowing where they'd fit in, so it's been a bit of an adjustment time for them," Ashworth said. "I think now they're starting to get comfortable in their positions. They're both hard workers and they've got a lot of fight. They're also people who haven't been in big situations, haven't won an ACC title yet, so they're hungry every time they step on the court."
The real focus of the weekend for the Blue Devils was not the match itself, but the difficult upcoming week that features a showdown with two top-10 teams, including a rematch with No. 1 Florida.
Just two weeks removed from a defeat in the finals of the Team Indoors to the Gators, Ashworth had his team focusing on improving so that next week's match in Gainesville, Fla., might not have the same result as 29 of the previous 30 matches contested between the two-a Duke loss.
"We accomplished some things that we needed to accomplish," Ashworth said. "We're getting better again, starting to climb again, so that's what we keep looking towards, heading where we want to. We've been playing better in practice and the match confirmed that."
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