Julie DeRoo Captures Singles Title At Omni Hotels Southeast Regional

Oct. 29, 2001

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Duke University junior Julie DeRoo captured the singles title Monday at the 2001 Omni Hotels Southeast Regional Championship in Winston-Salem, N.C. by knocking off 27th-ranked Sarah Witten of Kentucky in three sets.

DeRoo, a native of Ecully, France, began the day with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 victory over 13th-ranked Janet Bergman of Wake Forest and then downed Witten 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 at the Indoor Tennis Center on the campus of Wake Forest University. The victory for DeRoo is her 10th consecutive win since falling in the first round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Riviera All-American on Oct. 11. In the span of victories, she has knocked off eight ranked opponents, won the singles consolation title at the Riviera All-American and won the singles title at the Southeast Regional.

"I am pretty excited," said DeRoo. "I have been working very hard in practice and it has been paying off in the matches. This weekend I served really well as I got most of my first serves in. Most of the time my forehand is my best shot and it was working well this weekend also."

DeRoo transferred to Duke this summer after spending the last two years at Mississippi. She advanced to the NCAA Individual competition both years and was ranked as high as seventh nationally last season. DeRoo is currently ranked 21st in the preseason ITA singles rankings.

"Julie is really adapting well to things at Duke," said head coach Jamie Ashworth. "Since she lost her first match she has won 10 matches in a row. She is feeling more comfortable with the way we do things at Duke compared to how things were done at Mississippi. She is playing at a level that she is very capable of and it is showing with her results."

It marks the fourth year in a row, a Blue Devil has reached the finals at the Southeast Regional as Amanda Johnson advanced in 2000, Kathy Sell in 1999 and Karen Goldstein in 1998. With the victory DeRoo receives an automatic qualifier for the ITA Indoor Nationals, which Duke will head to next on Nov. 8-11 in Dallas, Texas.

"This victory helps us make a statement for our team and shows how much depth we are going to have this year," said Ashworth.

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