Entering postseason play with just five healthy players, no one predicted the Blue Devils would make it to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament this year.
But they surpassed all expectations when they took down Ole Miss and 16th-seeded Texas Tech in the first and second rounds of the tournament to advance to the Round of 16 where they set to face a familiar opponent in top-ranked Florida (24-2) Friday at 10 a.m. in Urbana, Ill. at the Kahn Outdoor Tennis Center.
“Because of the way the regular season ended, we didn’t have a lot of belief in ourselves,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “What we needed was something to get us some confidence and that came from those first two matches.”
Last season, the Blue Devils (16-9) took on Florida in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament and fell 4-3. The Gators went on to capture their second consecutive NCAA Championship.
The two teams will meet for the second time this season after the then-No. 2 Blue Devils swept then-No. 4 Florida 4-0 at Ambler Tennis Stadium Feb. 17. The match came when Duke was competing with a full and healthy lineup, long before injuries took a toll on the Blue Devils’ roster.
Although the Blue Devils are expecting a competitive match, Ashworth said that there are few aspects of Florida’s game that the team has not seen before.
“Everyone’s in a good frame of mind and knows that they’ve worked hard, Ashworth said. “Even though there are some different match-ups, it works both ways. We’re familiar with them and they’re familiar with us too, and there’s nothing that they do that we don’t know.”
Junior Hanna Mar will take on top-ranked senior Lauren Embree, who boasts a perfect 19-0 record in dual matches this season. Ashworth suspects that the rest of the Florida squad feeds off of Embree’s energy and competitive spirit which, along with good coaching, he feels makes Florida one of the most dangerous teams in the NCAA.
Although the Duke will take on the Gators with only five competitors, Ashworth feels that the situation has actually proven to be more of a psychological advantage for the Blue Devils, which makes them a significant threat to teams that take them for granted.
“It is tougher for teams to play us with only five people,” Ashworth said. “The longer we can stay on the court, the better because teams start to get nervous and tight, but it’s also better for the girls because they are playing more freely.”
With the team’s newfound confidence and freedom to stay loose on the court, Ashworth said he thinks his squad can still give Florida a competitive match.
“We’ll fight and we’ll compete and we’ll give Florida everything we have,” Ashworth said. “There’s nothing for us to be nervous about and we’re going to leave everything on the court and see what happens.”
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