Just two days after beating Georgia Tech in a rollercoaster tilt in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, Duke fell victim to UCLA in yet another thriller.
On Sunday. the sixth-seeded Bruins snuck by the third-seeded Blue Devils in the quarterfinals 4-2.
Duke’s day started off poorly after the Bruins secured the doubles point after victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. According to Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth, aggressive play by UCLA may have been key to the Bruins’ early lead.
“We were on our heels from the start and we never recovered,” said Ashworth. “They did a really good job of being aggressive and being on top of the net and really intimidating us. It’s weird to think, but they were more aggressive than us.”
Despite the early hole, it wasn’t the first time the Blue Devils would have to overcome the doubles point, having done so just two days earlier against the Yellow Jackets. Ashworth remained confident in his team’s ability to do damage in singles.
“The character we have is to fight,” said Anderson. “We had a chance to win six first sets and put ourselves in a position to win.”
Freshman Rachel Kahan tied the score up quickly, winning her match 6-4, 6-4 to bring her overall singles record to 28-0 for the year. UCLA then responded with singles victories of its own, though. After winning her first set 6-2, Nadine Fahoum dropped the last two sets to McCall Jones, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead. This was swiftly followed by a straight-set victory from Pamela Montez at No. 4 to extend the advantage.
Mary Clayton put forth an excellent effort on court six, winning her match in three sets 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-3 to cut the deficit to two. With Reka Zsilinszka fighting hard at the No. 3 spot, leading 4-1 in the final set, it looked like the Blue Devils could pull off yet another tight match. But, Ellah Nze lost a three-set match to Noelle Hickey, securing the victory for UCLA.
“They realized they had nothing to lose,” Ashworth said. “If you’re going to get beat, you better leave everything you have on the court. It’s hard to win 4 singles matches against this kind of team.”
Duke finishes the season with an overall record of 25-5 after making its third consecutive appearance in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Fahoum, Zsilinszka, and Nze are staying in Palo Alto for the singles and doubles championships. And while the team season is coming to a close, Anderson already considers this squad “special.”
“They have a lot of heart and a lot of character,” Anderson said. “The tenacity and character we showed is what we build our program on. If we get the same fight and belief in doubles that we do in singles in the future, we’ll be a tough team to beat.”
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