Freshman Clelia Deltour impressed the competition this weekend at Riviera/ITA-Women’s All-American Championships, winning four consecutive prequalifying matches. The native of France advanced to the main qualifying draw and will have the opportunity to compete for a spot in the championship draw later in the week.
“These wins were great for her confidence after some early jitters at William & Mary last week,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “Her attitude is terrific. When she stepped off the court after her fourth win, she told me she knows she can play even better. I look forward to seeing what she can accomplish in her Duke career.”
Sophomore Jennifer Zika, ranked 68th nationally, will join Deltour in the qualifying round after receiving a bye. Zika will match up against Maria Ivanov of Tulane, and Deltour will take on the tournament’s eighth seed, Emma Murphy of UC San Diego. The freshman is not phased by her formidable opponent and is excited about the chance to play a top-seeded player for her first time, Ashworth said.
To advance to the main draw, Zika and Deltour will have to notch consecutive victories Tuesday and Wednesday. No. 19 Jackie Carleton, a transfer from host UCLA who won the A-flight consolation bracket at William & Mary last week, received a bye to the main draw.
“Carleton is really getting familiar with our team, and we’re learning about her abilities,” Ashworth said. “It will be great to see her compete this week.”
Five other Duke players entered prequalifying play Saturday, and all notched opening round victories. As the weekend progressed, however, the Blue Devils ran into some difficult opponents, and besides Deltour, none advanced.
Senior Saras Arasu won three consecutive matches to begin her weekend, but only victory away from the next stage, Arasu ran into one of the nation’s top freshmen and lost the match 6-1, 6-0.
Kristen Cargill played in the team’s most exciting match of the weekend, Ashworth said. After losing the first set 6-4, she stormed back and took the second 6-2. With the final set knotted at six, the sophomore lost in a heartbreaking tiebreaker to Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech.
“Kristen played great and has been our most improved player this fall,” Ashworth said. “It was tough to see her lose that match, but I’m extremely excited about what I saw from her out there.”
In doubles play, the newly formed Blue Devil duos did not fare well. All three of the pairs that have competed lost before the third round.
With those three pairs out, Carleton and Katie Blaszak are the only Duke tandem remaining. The Blue Devils will play their first match of the tournament this afternoon when they take on Lindsay Martin and Katie McGaffian of Wisconsin in a doubles qualifying match.
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