A year after the women's tennis team qualified no one for the ITA National Collegiate Indoor Championships, the Blue Devils will send three of its players there this season after they earned bids to the tournament Monday in Chapel Hill.
Daniela Bercek and Jessi Robinson won the doubles draw at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships with an 8-4 win over the second-seeded Kentucky duo of Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk.
In singles, Jackie Carleton upset Coventry, the tournament's top seed, in the semifinals to advance to the finals. She was ousted in straight sets in the finals by Clemson freshman Federica van Adrichem but still qualified for nationals with her finals appearance.
"She played there two years ago, and I think she feels like she deserves to be one of the top 32 players in the country," head coach Jamie Ashworth said of Carleton. "This finally puts her back in that position. She put in a lot of work this summer and has done a really good job with her conditioning and speed work."
Bercek, a junior transfer from UCLA, had already qualified for the ITA National Indoor singles draw by advancing to the finals of the All-American Tournament in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Oct. 9.
In the championship match, which was her second match of the day, Carleton did not show the same kind of energy she had shown in her semifinals match, Ashworth said.
In the semifinals, the senior moved around the court well and controlled the tempo of the game. After splitting the first two sets, Carleton recovered from an early break to claim the third set over Coventry, 6-4.
"She knew going into this match that she would have to move well, have to be patient and not get into a kind of power game but instead, control her with long points," Ashworth said. "She did a really good job of that."
Bercek and Robinson, playing in just their third tournament as partners, got out to a 7-2 lead in the doubles finals before securing their 8-4 victory. Ashworth said Robinson served better than she has all season.
The pair defeated Duke teammates freshman Melissa Mang and Jennifer Zika in the semifinals. The eventual champions actually trailed early in their semifinal match before rallying for the victory. Blue Devil teams represented half of the eight quarterfinal pairs, giving Ashworth reason to be excited about Duke's depth.
"Our doubles is finally where it needs to be," Ashworth said. "It has taken a long time."
The ITA National Indoor Championships will be held Nov. 3-6 in Columbus, Ohio and will feature 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams.
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