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Duke University
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Kentucky
Duke Tennis Downs Kentucky 5-2 Saturday
1/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 26, 2002
BURNSVILLE, MINN. -- The third-ranked Duke women's tennis team improved to 2-0 overall after knocking off 23rd-ranked Kentucky, 5-2, on Saturday in the Minnesota Court Classic championship at the Northwest Athletic Club in Burnsville, Minn.
The Blue Devils captured the championship title, while the host Minnesota finished in third place with a 5-2 win over Marquette. The loss for Kentucky is its first of the season to drop the Wildcats to 5-1.
"We were down 1-0 early and I was very happy with how the team responded," said Duke Head Coach Jamie Ashworth. "Kentucky is a lot better than their ranking and has three of the top doubles teams in the nation. I knew our doubles teams were going to have to play well to get a victory."
In the title match, Kentucky took the lead 1-0 by sweeping the doubles competition. The Blue Devils quickly evened the match as third-ranked freshman Kelly McCain (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) downed 53rd-ranked Sarah Witten (6-4, 6-1) at the number one position. The Wildcats responded quickly as Leigh Bradwell defeated 90th-ranked Saras Arasu (6-2, 6-2) at the fifth position to take a 2-1 lead.
Duke's Amanda Johnson (Bettendorf, Iowa) brought the Blue Devils back as the 26th-ranked sophomore downed 30th-ranked Carolina Mayorga (6-2, 6-2) to even the match, 2-2. The Blue Devils would never look back as 15th-ranked Julie DeRoo (Ecully, France) knocked off Lauren Rookledge (6-2, 6-4) to give Duke its first lead of the match.
At number four singles, Duke senior Ioana Plesu (Saint-Foy, Quebec Canada) lost the first set 0-6 to 92nd-ranked Amy Trefethen, but came back to win the next two 6-4, 6-2 to clinch the victory for the Blue Devils. Junior Katie Granson (Bethlehem, Pa.) also battled back after losing the first set 0-6 to claim a 7-5, 7-6 victory over Jill Buckley.
"Ioana's victory was very big for us," said Ashworth. "She is a senior and we needed someone to step up and get a victory from the four through six positions."
Duke will next travel to Harvard for a Feb. 2 match at 6:00 PM.
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Singles 1. #3 Kelly McCain def. #53 Sarah Witten, 6-4, 6-1 2. #26 Amanda Johnson def. #30 Carolina Mayorga, 6-2, 6-2 3. #15 Julie DeRoo def. Lauren Rookledge, 6-2, 6-4 4. Ioana Plesu def. #92 Amy Trefethen, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 5. Leigh Bradwell def. #90 Saras Arasu, 6-2, 6-2 6. Katie Granson def. Jill Buckley, 0-6, 7-5, 7-6Doubles 1. #7 Witten/Mayorga def. McCain/Johnson, 8-5 2. #49 Bradwell/Rookledge def. DeRoo/Adams, 9-8 3. #27 Trefethen/Jill Buckley def. Granson/Plesu, 8-4
Players Mentioned
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