After giving Duke its first lead at North Carolina Wednesday, seldom-used Parker Goyer knew she would be called upon to earn more crucial points for the Blue Devils with two of their top singles players out of the lineup.
And playing in her first deciding match of the season, Goyer came through big-time on the team’s season-ending road trip. Against ACC-unbeaten Georgia Tech Saturday, she took a three-set victory, lifting No. 16 Duke (14-9, 5-5 in the ACC) past the No. 8 Yellow Jackets (16-3, 9-1) for the Blue Devils’ biggest upset of the season.
With top seeds Katie Blaszak and Jennifer Zika out again Sunday, Goyer played the deciding match once more in Duke’s final regular-season contest. Although she fell in the Blue Devils’ 5-2 loss to No. 14 Clemson (17-7, 8-2), the sophomore gave slumping Duke a boost heading into the postseason.
“Parker has always asked for an opportunity, and the North Carolina match gave her confidence,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “She had never been in this type of position before to be able to clinch the match. Parker was aggressive and did a good job after being in a hard position.”
After claiming the first set in Atlanta 7-5, Goyer lost the second by the same score, forcing a decisive third set against Whitney McCray. With the pressure mounting, Goyer rebounded to win the third frame 6-4, giving Duke the 4-3 comeback win.
“I had four or five match points until I finally won, but it was great to get the victory,” Goyer said Saturday. “It is hard to believe that I am in this situation, and I am going to take advantage of this opportunity. I didn’t have all that great of rhythm today, but I fought for every ball.”
At Clemson Sunday, Goyer once again found herself playing in the decisive match but was unable to duplicate Saturday’s performance, losing to Ioana Paun 6-0, 7-5.
Duke was hampered all weekend by its inability to win the doubles point, forcing the team to battle back with its battered singles lineup.
The Blue Devils came within one point of claiming the early advantage in Saturday’s match at Georgia Tech. After the teams split the first two doubles matches, Tory Zawacki and Clelia Deltour reached match points in a tiebreaker but ultimately lost. Clemson defeated the Blue Devils Sunday at all three doubles positions to claim the opening point.
“Even though we lost the doubles point, I don’t think it fazed [Duke’s players] because we have lost so many doubles points this season,” Ashworth said.
Zawacki started Saturday’s turnaround, quickly defeating her opponent 6-3, 6-4 to tie the overall score at 1-1.
Saras Arasu then dropped her singles match at the No. 2 position, but a pair of three-set victories by Deltour and Kristin Cargill gave Duke the 3-2 advantage.
Jackie Carleton was next off the court, losing a close match 7-5, 7-6 to set up Goyer’s decisive showdown.
“We really need a win like this,” Ashworth said. “I told them if we execute and finish, we can win. That is what happened today.”
Unlike Georgia Tech, Clemson never let the the Blue Devils back into the match after taking the doubles point. The Tigers jumped to a 3-0 lead as Carleton followed a Zawacki loss with one of her own at the hands of Julie Coin, the nation’s No. 2 singles player.
Deltour earned the Blue Devils’ first point with a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Playing in the second flight for the first time, the freshman improved her singles record to 8-2 in conference play.
Clemson then took the No. 6 singles match against Goyer for the victory.
“It was a tough way to end the regular season,” Ashworth said.
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