The last time the women's tennis team traveled to the Midwest, they were riding high, taking the National Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis., and subsequently their first ever No. 1 ranking two weeks ago. But after dismantling No. 19 Notre Dame 5-2 in South Bend, Ind., it was all downhill
Amanda Johnson lost match point on serve and fell in a tiebreak as Duke suffered a shocking 4-3 loss to 49th-ranked Illinois yesterday, making for a somber ride back down south.
The Blue Devils took the doubles point on Sunday as they did earlier in the weekend, but four singles losses to a confident Illini squad sent Duke packing and is sure to send them down in the national rankings; No. 2 Florida beat Florida State Wednesday and looks to leapfrog the wallowing Blue Devils this week.
"We played really defensive, even in the matches we won," head coach Jamie Ashworth said of Sunday's pratfall. "We were more talented, and that's why we won some matches, but instead of playing aggressive we were playing defense the whole time."
Leading 3-2 with only two singles matches remaining, Duke looked in control with Katie Granson up a set over Illinois' Eldina Fazlic.
But Granson ran out of gas as Fazlic set the stage for a game-deciding match with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset.
After falling behind and losing the first set to Illinois junior Jennifer McGaffigan 6-2, Johnson swung the momentum back Duke's way with a 6-4 win in the second set and an upset in the balance.
And after Johnson, ranked 15th nationally, broke No. 41 McGaffigan's serve to go up 6-5 in the third and control her own destiny, it looked as if the Blue Devils would escape with an exhausting close call.
But the crowd pushed McGaffigan on against a weary Johnson, breaking back her serve and forcing a critical tie-breaker. The Illini ace would never look back, jumping out to a 5-1 advantage and taking the contest 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3).
"Today was like boxing, where we're the counter-puncher instead of being the puncher with the knock-out," said Ashworth, who saw a lack of aggressiveness in his players as they played behind the baseline.
Ashworth also added that his players had the defense of their ranking on their minds just a bit too much.
The Blue Devils get to regroup before hosting Michigan Friday at 4 p.m. and Purdue Sunday at noon at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
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