Another national championship wasn’t in the cards for 10-seeded Duke Saturday, as the Blue Devils fell 4-3 to North Carolina in a close quarterfinals loss in Athens, Ga.
Duke won the doubles point, and junior Reka Zsilinska won her match 6-2, 6-3 to give the Blue Devils an early 2-1 lead. But freshman Mary Clayton and senior Amanda Granson fell, and the Tar Heels took a 3-2 lead. Junior Ellah Nze lost to Sanaz Marand, giving second-ranked North Carolina the pivotal fourth point and the win.
Before the loss Saturday, the Blue Devils seemed as if they were on their way to a repeat of last year. They upset seven-seeded UCLA, 4-2, with singles wins from Granson, Clayton and senior Elizabeth Plotkin.
Plotkin won in especially exciting fashion. Losing the first set 6-2, then winning the second 6-4, she entered the decisive third set knowing that she had to play well in order to keep the pressure off teammate Zsilinszka. She fell behind early, 4-0. Then she mounted a gritty comeback, tied it at 6-6 and won the tiebreaker. The win would catapult Duke to the quarterfinals.
Nze and Zsilinska’s season continued with the NCAA Individual Singles Tournament Wednesday. Nze won her match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4, over Washington State’s Elisabeth Fournier, but Zsilinska was not as fortunate, losing 7-5, 6-4 to Anouk Tigu of Arkansas. Nze plays again today against Boise State’s Pichittra Thongdach.
— from staff reports
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