Duke swept through the state of Virginia this weekend, defeating two of its programs.
First travelling to Charlottesville to capture a 4-3 win over Virginia, the Blue Devils then moved on to Blacksburg where they overwhelmed Virginia Tech 7-0.
With No. 5 Duke’s (15-2, 4-0 in the ACC) win over No. 8 Virginia (12-4, 3-2), head coach Jamie Ashworth became the ACC’s all-time wins leader with his 352nd victory, passing former North Carolina head coach Kitty Harrison.
“It’s a weird position for me to be in,” Ashworth said. “It’s been a lot about the girls that we have had and the quality of student athletes that have come through our program over the last 16 years.”
The victory was not an easy one, as Duke’s toughest ACC opponent thus far took the momentum by sweeping all three doubles matches.
Duke was able to rally back in singles play as freshman and No. 2 Beatrice Capra upended No. 15 Emily Fraser in a 6-2, 6-0 victory to tie the match at one.
The Blue Devils then took the lead as junior Mary Clayton defeated Erin Vierra 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 5 spot. She was soon followed by sophomore Hanna Mar, who clinched Ashworth’s record-setting victory with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Hana Tomljanovic.
Despite carrying their matches into the third set, freshmen Ester Goldfeld and Monica Turewicz were unable to outlast their opponents, ending the match 4-3.
“I was really happy with the overall effort of the singles,” Ashworth said. “They responded to the challenge. They didn’t shy away from it.”
As Duke moved on to Virginia Tech, Ashworth switched up all three of the doubles teams to completely new pairings.
“We are just trying to find the momentum with our doubles play,” Ashworth said. “The last couple matches we have not been able to do that as well as I would have liked.”
This worked well for the Blue Devils, who swept doubles play for a 1-0 lead that would not be relinquished. Mar followed up with a quick 6-1, 6-0 victory over Courtney Rauscher to keep the momentum.
Not a single match went into the third set as the remaining five Duke players overpowered their opponents for the Blue Devils’ ninth shutout of the season.
“It was definitely a good match for us,” Ashworth said. “Especially coming off of the Virginia match, which was a little bit more emotional.”
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