Duke had never lost to Furman, and the Blue Devils made sure it stayed that way.
No. 10 Duke improved to 12-0 all-time against the Paladins with a 7-0 sweep Saturday at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. In those 12 meetings, the Blue Devils hold a record of 94-2.
Freshman Alyssa Smith and senior Marianne Jodoin won 6-1 in less than 30 minutes in doubles against senior Margaret Boyette and freshman Karlee Bryde.
“It was fun to be out there on the court and be there for the teammates that were still on,” Jodoin said. “I am happy with how I played, and if it was a quick match, well I’ll take it.”
Duke's top two doubles teams struggled against Furman (1-1) in the early-going before each jumped out to 5-3 leads. In the end, it was senior Hanna Mar and junior Ester Goldfeld that clinched the doubles point for Duke (4-0) against Furman’s freshmen duo of Ansley Speaks and Bair Martin.
“We did a good job of giving a team like Furman no confidence,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “When we play a team that we are better than, we have to do that. We can’t go out and kind of lull around and go through the motions so I thought we did a good job with that.”
Sensing that his team had a decisive advantage, Ashworth pulled sophomore Beatrice Capra and Chalena Scholl out of the singles lineup at the last minute. After an injury-ridden 2013 season, Duke now has the ability to exercise some flexibility in its ladder.
“It is a tribute to our depth. We know that we can sit people and rest people to prepare for the next match,” Ashworth said. “It is a great thing for everyone on the—even the ones that don’t play.”
Rachel Kahan played in the sixth singles spot after her debut last weekend in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The senior continues to look more comfortable on the court as she plays her first matches after returning from Tommy John surgery. Kahan was the first singles player off the court Saturday after defeating Margaret Boyette 6-2, 6-0.
“I feel like each match is getting better, just like each match the team is getting better, too,” Kahan said. “I am just happy I can help out the team again.”
The wins continued to pile up for the Blue Devils. Jodoin quickly clinched the third point for Duke, crushing Kelly Sullivan 6-0, 6-0. Mar added a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Ansley Speaks before Smith notched a 6-1, 6-2 win against senior Katherine Oudin.
Playing in the top singles spot, Goldfeld was the only member of the team that met significant opposition, overcoming a three-game deficit to notch a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Alex Moreno-Kaste. Annie Mulholland completed the sweep with 6-2, 6-3 win against Bryde.
With another win in the books, the Blue Devils will now look ahead to next week's ITA National Team Indoors in Charlottesville, Va., where they will compete against the top 16 teams in the nation.
“We have to step up. It is just another level,” Ashworth said. “We have to be ready to play big boy tennis this week, and we haven’t really been pushed, so we have to expect tough matches all week and prepare for that this weekend after today.”
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