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DURHAM, N.C. The No. 26 Virginia women’s tennis team suffered its fifth consecutive loss to a top-25 team, falling to No. 9 Duke 7-0 Saturday at the Ambler Tennis Stadium. The loss drops the Cavaliers’ record to 10-7 overall and 3-5 in the ACC.
In doubles play, the Blue Devils opened the match strong by sweeping all three matches. In singles, Duke took four matches in straight sets to extend their lead to 5-0. In the final two matches on the courts, Jennifer Stevens (Miami, Fla.) and Amanda Rales (Bethesda, Md.) lost in three sets to top 40 ranked players.
“The match was a good bit closer than the ultimate score, but definitely a case where Duke did not make mistakes on any courts at the key moments and therefore kept us off the scoreboard,” said Virginia head coach Mark Guilbeau. “It has been a tough stretch for this team to say the least, but we are very fortunate to have another opportunity ahead tomorrow and two more regular season matches to follow next week. We have every reason to keep fighting out there and work to have better success ahead.”
Virginia continues its road trip on Sunday as it visits North Carolina.
No. 9 Duke 7, No. 26 Virginia 0
Doubles
1. #18 Mang/Granson (Duke) def. #43 Fraser/Stevens (UVa) 8-4
2. Robinson/Cecil (Duke) def. Rales/Vaez (UVa) 8-3
3. Nze/Zsilinszka (Duke) def. Bartlett/Yahner (UVa) 8-6
Singles
1. #31 Mallory Cecil (Duke) def. #81 Emily Fraser (UVa) 6-1, 6-0
2. #28 Ellah Nze (Duke) def. #88 Jennifer Stevens (UVa) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. #40 Reka Zsilinszka (Duke) def. Amanda Rales (UVa) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0
4. #75 Amanda Granson (Duke) def. Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) 6-2, 7-5
5. Melissa Mang (Duke) def. Claire Bartlett (UVa) 6-2, 6-2
6. Jessi Robinson (Duke) def. Karoline Steiro (UVa) 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 2,1,3
Singles: 1,5,4,6,2,3