Women's Tennis Suffers 5-2 Loss to No. 5 Duke
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – For the second consecutive day, the Virginia women’s tennis team took a top-five opponent to the brink, but couldn’t pull off the upset. The No. 34 Cavaliers (10-7, 3-4 ACC) fell 5-2 Saturday afternoon to No. 5 Duke at the Snyder Tennis Center, a day after being edged by top-ranked North Carolina 4-3.
The Blue Devils (17-2, 5-0 ACC) took an early 1-0 advantage by winning a close doubles point. Virginia took the early edge in doubles as Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) and Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) topped Mary Clayton and Monica Gorny 8-3 at No. 2. After Duke drew even with a 9-7 win at No. 3, the opening point came down to the match at No. 1. The Cavalier duo of Jennifer Stevens (Miami, Fla.) and Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton, Fla.) had a match point at 7-6, but Duke’s Ellah Nze and Amanda Granson rallied for a 9-7 win to give the Blue Devils the opening point.
In singles, Duke extended its lead to 2-0 as Clayton defeated Maria Fuccillo (Rockville, Md.) at No. 6. Virginia rallied to draw even as Stevens cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Gorny at No. 5 and Hardenbergh defeated Nze 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 at the top position. Duke retook the lead, 3-2, as Elizabeth Plotkin edged Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) 7-5, 7-6 at No. 2. The match then came down to the final two matches, which both went to a third set. However, the Blue Devils were able to pull out 6-4 in the third set wins at both No. 3 and No. 4 to seal the 5-2 dual match win.
Virginia returns to action next week as they make its final road trip of the regular season. The Cavaliers visit NC State on Saturday and Wake Forest on Sunday.
No. 5 Duke 5, No. 34 Virginia 2
Doubles:
1. #42 Nze/Granson (Duke) def. #65 Stevens/Tomljanovic (UVa) 9-7
2. #44 Hardenbergh/Vierra (UVa) def. Clayton/Gorny (Duke) 8-3
3. #58 Plotkin/Zsilinszka (Duke) def. Fuccillo/Fraser (UVa) 9-7
Singles:
1. #42 Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) def. #40 Ellah Nze (Duke) 6-3, 0-6, 6-3
2. #62 Elizabeth Plotkin (Duke) def. Emily Fraser (UVa) 7-5, 7-6(4)
3. #39 Reka Zsilinszka (Duke) def. Erin Vierra (UVa) 6-0, 5-7, 6-4
4. Amanda Granson (Duke) def. Hana Tomljanovic (UVa) 6-7(8), 6-2, 6-4
5. Jennifer Stevens (UVa) def. Monica Gorny (Duke) 6-1, 6-1
6. Mary Clayton (Duke) def. Maria Fuccillo (UVa) 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 2,3,1
Singles: 6,5,1,2,4,3