The sixth-seeded women"s tennis team advanced to the second round of the ITA Indoor Championships, beating Texas A&M, 5-2.EE
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'It"s good to be back at the National Indoor Championships,' Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said. 'We missed being here last year, and the last time we were here, we won it, so our expectations are high.'EE
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With the win, the Blue Devils go on to play Miami today at 3 p.m. in Madison, Wis. The Hurricanes upset third-seeded UCLA Thursday, squeaking by, 4-3.EE
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'Miami is an emotionally aggressive team,' Ashworth noted. 'We need to match their emotional intensity and the results will take care of themselves.'EE
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Duke"s Katie Blaszak, playing in the No. 1 singles spot for the second straight match, came up with a straight set win, 6-3, 6-4. Helga Vieira led Blaszak 4-3 in the second set, but the Duke senior came back to win three games in a row to seal the match.EE
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'Katie played really well,' Ashworth said. 'She"s been working hard, and she"s getting her results. She"s a senior and a good example to the younger players about how hard work pays off.'EE
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In the second flight, Jenny Zika seemed to be in control after her first set, winning 6-1. After Aggie Anna Lubinsky edged Zika 7-5 in the second, Lubinsky won the tiebreaker to score one of A&M"s two points. The two played a tiebreaker instead of a complete third set as the overall match was already decided. The loss was Zika"s second tiebreaker defeat in a row.EE
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The Aggies scored their other point in the third singles match. Freshman Clelia Deltour fell to her Aggie opponent, 6-2, 7-5, in the first match to finish.EE
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Duke won its No. 4, 5 and 6 singles matches all in straight sets. Saras Arasu, known for keeping the ball in play and forcing her opponents to make mistakes, did just that, winning 6-2, 6-4. Ashworth said he 'would like to see more aggressive play from her this weekend.'EE
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The doubles portion of the match was marked by an early surge by the Blue Devils in all three matches, and all went on to win, giving Duke the early one-point advantage.EE
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'With all the top teams here, getting the doubles point is big,' Ashworth said. 'We got out to a lead, and it hurt Texas A&M.'EE
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The duo of Blaszak and Jackie Carleton broke late, pulling away from a 6-6 tie to come up with an 8-6 win. Kristin Cargill and Zika topped their opponents 8-4. Finally, Clelia Deltour and partner Parker Goyer won, 8-3.
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