When Duke steps onto the court for its first match of the NCAA Tournament, it will already be trailing.
Decimated by injuries, the Blue Devils have been competing with only five players for the past month. Forced to forfeit a singles match and one of the two matches required to win the doubles point, Duke has a 1-6 record in its last seven matches.
Despite being ranked 15th in the country, Duke’s shorthanded lineup is likely one of the reasons the Blue Devils were not seeded in the top 16 for this year’s NCAA Tournament. But facing an uphill battle against Mississippi Saturday at noon at McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock, Texas, Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said his team remains confident.
“It doesn’t mean that we’re out of the match. It doesn’t mean we can’t win—because we can,” junior Hanna Mar said. “We’ve done it. It’s hard, but there’s no reason for us to count ourselves out.”
Competing in their 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils (14-9) have posted a 20-1 all-time record in first round matches. Duke will put that mark on the line against a Mississippi (16-13) squad that won six of its last seven regular season matches, but has only defeated one nationally ranked opponent this season.
Duke last faced the Rebels at the 2012 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, when the Blue Devils escaped with a 4-3 victory.
“They play with a lot of energy and a lot of emotion,” Ashworth said. “They compete, they fight and every point they win they are yelling and cheering and supporting each other. Just from an emotional standpoint we have to be able to match that.”
Ashworth stressed the importance of doubles play in his team’s gameplan. Trailing 1-0 to start the match, the Blue Devils could pull the match even heading into singles play if it wins the doubles point, providing the squad with momentum.
Duke will rely on the play of Mar and Mary Clayton and Annie Mulholland and Marianne Jodoin to keep the team from falling into a deeper hole. The Rebels’ first doubles team of Marija Milutinovic and Caroline Rohde-Moe has had limited success this season, posting an 8-7 record in dual matches at the first doubles slot. Mississippi’s second doubles team will likely be a mystery, as head coach Mark Beyers often tries different pairings depending on matchups.
“We have to play good doubles. We have to negate not having a sixth player as fast as we can,” Ashworth said. “It also puts more pressure on your opponent if you win the doubles point because they only have to win one of those matches and if they lose the doubles point they lose their lead.”
Mar, the No. 29 ranked singles player in the nation, will square off with No. 45 Rohde-Moe at the top singles position. Rohde-Moe has a 9-13 record in dual matches against nationally ranked opponents this season.
Although the Blue Devils will enter tomorrow’s match already at a deficit, Mar said that rather than fixating on Mississippi, her team hopes to focus on its own play.
“The best thing that we can do to prepare is just think about ourselves,” Mar said. “We need to make sure we’re ready to play and have a lot of belief in ourselves and confidence that we can beat them.”
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