From the conversations taking place on the courts of Ambler Tennis Stadium Wednesday afternoon, it was hard to imagine that the ACC Championships were only two days away.
"How do you go from AC/DC to Madonna? AC/DC, ugh."
"Wait, what do you mean? You don't like AC/DC?"
Although the No. 12 Blue Devils were preparing intensely in anticipation of this weekend's tournament, the mood at practice this week remained relaxed.
"We're ready," senior Jackie Carleton said.
The Blue Devils (16-6, 9-2 in the ACC) wrapped up their season by winning five of their last six matches, topping higher-ranked opponents such as No. 5 North Carolina and No. 12 Georgia Tech.
A final 9-2 conference record put the Blue Devils in a three-way tie for first place in the league standings with Georgia Tech and Miami. The top tournament seeds were determined by a blind draw, with Georgia Tech getting the top seed, Duke the second and Miami the third.
The No. 2 seed gave the Blue Devils a first round bye and they will begin play today in the quarterfinals against seventh-seeded Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons (13-8, 5-6) defeated 10th-seeded N.C. State, 4-1, in the first round Thursday. The Blue Devils were victorious in their last match with Wake Forest March 1, 5-2.
"Our program has been built on the tradition that we've established in the ACC," head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "We've taken a lot of pride in the ACC tournament, and we've gone into the tournament having as much confidence as anybody in the conference. This group has that same confidence, but at the same time they have healthy respect for everybody. They know that if they don't play well they can be beaten."
Ashworth's words harkened back to when Duke finished off its regular season with a 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes, whom they may be forced to play in the tournament's semifinals.
"The team challenge might be playing Miami since we lost to them last week," Carleton said. "But I think that will be even more motivation to be fired up and get revenge against them when it really counts."
And when it counts, the Blue Devils have dominated the competition. From 1988 to 2001, Duke won 14 straight tournament championships. After finishing second in 2002, the Blue Devils claimed the title once again a year later. Last year, however, Duke failed to make the championship match for the first time in 17 seasons, falling in the quarterfinals to Miami.
"We may not have had the best results last year or the year before but people still know the history and tradition of our program," Ashworth said.
This year's Blue Devils enter the tournament with three all-conference team selections-Carleton, junior Daniela Bercek and freshman Melissa Mang. The only other school to place three players on the team was Miami.
Mang was also named ACC Freshman of the Year, giving her a confidence boost heading into her first conference tournament.
"I'm a little nervous, but our team is doing well and we're all very excited and ready to play," Mang said. "It's been a good year for everyone, for our team, so I think we're ready."
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