Seventh-seeded Duke fell hard to second-seeded Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship 4-0 Friday in Cary.
"We had a few chances," said assistant coach Stephanie Nickitas. "But to Georgia Tech's credit, they played really well. We got hit pretty hard with injuries and sickness [recently], but it's definitely not an excuse."
The fifth-ranked Yellow Jackets (21-4, 11-1 in the ACC) dominated the match, stripping the doubles point from the No. 22 Blue Devils (11-10, 6-7).
Tenth-ranked senior Daniela Bercek and sophomore Melissa Mang fell to third-ranked Kristi Miller and Whitney McCray 8-1.
The pair of freshman Amanda Granson and sophomore Jessi Robinson lost to Tarynn Rudman and Kirsten Flower 8-2.
The Yellow Jackets completed a 3-0 sweep in singles play, as Robinson fell to Rudman 6-2, 6-1, and freshman Elizabeth Plotkin was overpowered by Amanda Craddock 6-1, 6-4.
Georgia Tech's Amanda McDowell outplayed senior Tory Zawacki 6-1, 6-4, for the match.
"We went in there with nothing to lose and we fought our hardest, but it didn't turn out as well as we thought it would," Plotkin said.
Next, the Blue Devils travel to Athens, Ga., for the NCAA Championships May 17-28.
"We're going to get hopefully injury-free and sickness-free," Nickitas said. "That's going to be our main focus at least this week."
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