Short-handed Duke women's tennis takes on Maryland, Boston College

Short-handed and amid a two-match losing skid, No. 11 Duke will look to finish off the regular season on a winning note when it travels to Maryland Friday and Boston College Saturday.

Duke (14-7, 5-4 in the ACC) was swept 4-0 by No. 1 North Carolina Wednesday and currently ranks fifth in the conference. Maryland (5-14, 0-8) ranks last in the conference, and the Eagles (9-8, 3-6) sit in ninth place in the ACC.

But the Blue Devils are 1-4 in their last five matches, in large part because they have only had five healthy players available to suit up. Due to Ester Goldfeld’s recent hand injury, the Blue Devils have been forced to forfeit a doubles’ match and a singles point in every contest.

“We have talked a lot about doing the little things well, and we can’t give away free points,” Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “There are 15 or 16 points that can go either way in a match. We just have to make sure that we are staying disciplined and executing what we need to do on those points.”

Despite the setback, the Blue Devils have seen numerous individual highlights this season. The anchor has been Marianne Jodoin, who is currently on a 21-match win streak, highlighted by a perfect 4-0 record in ACC play. Teammate Mary Clayton is tied for third in program history for career ACC singles wins with 28.

Maryland is coming off a disheartening 7-0 loss to N.C. State last weekend. The Blue Devils have only lost to the Terrapins twice in the teams’ 40 meetings over the history of the two programs. Duke junior Hanna Mar, ranked No. 25 nationally, will likely be matched up against Maryland senior Vroni Van Berlo, who boasts an 8-5 singles record in dual matches so far this season.

The Blue Devils will then head further up the Atlantic Coast to take on Boston College. The Eagles will play North Carolina Friday night before facing Duke Saturday. Boston College has one ranked doubles tandem of Jessica Wacnik and Alex Kelleher at No. 78.

“Matches that have gotten away from us, we have tried to be better than we need to be,” Ashworth said. “If we can be ourselves, that’s all we can ask for.”