Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at Kitty Harrison Invitational on September 12, 2025
Women's Tennis
at Kitty Harrison Invitational
Friday, February 8
Madison, Wisc.
TBA
Duke University
5
vs
2
North Carolina
Blue Devils Bounce Tar Heels To Advance To Semifinals of National Team Indoors
2/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 8, 2002
MADISON, WISC. - For the eighth time in Duke's history, the second-ranked Blue Devils advanced to the semifinals of the United States Tennis Association (USTA)/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Women's Team Indoor Championships on Friday by defeated 16th-ranked North Carolina, 5-2, at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wisc.
The victory for Duke earns 1.5 points towards the Carlyle Cup, a year long competition between Duke and North Carolina sponsored by Carlyle & Co. of Greensboro, N.C. UNC leads the overall competition 17-5.5.
The Blue Devils jumped out to a quick lead against the Tar Heels in the doubles competition as Duke's duo of Amanda Johnson/Kelly McCain blanked Kate Pinchbeck/Julie Rotondi, 8-0, at the number two position. North Carolina would respond with an 8-5 victory at the third slot as Kendall Cline/Lee Bairos knocked off Katie Granson/Ioana Plesu. The doubles point came down to the top seeds with Duke's Hillary Adams/Julie DeRoo pulling out a 9-8 point-clinching victory over Marlene Mejia/Aniela Majzis.
"Clinching the doubles point was big for us because it came down to a tiebreaker," said Duke head Coach Jamie Ashworth. "We carried a lot of momentum into singles play and Amanda [Johnson] gave them no breathing room with a quick victory to stretch our lead."
With a 1-0 lead heading to the singles competition, Duke wasted little time claiming the victory over the arch-rival Tar Heels. At the second slot Johnson, ranked 26th-nationally, cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 rout over 41st-ranked Rotondi to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead. The match took less than one hour to finish. Plesu, the lone senior on Duke's roster, earned a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Mojzis at the fourth position to put the Blue Devils up with a commanding 3-0 advantage.
McCain, a freshman ranked third-nationally, next clinched the victory for the Blue Devils with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over All-America Marlene Mejia. After Duke clinched the match, Granson knocked off North Carolina's Kristin Koenig (6-0, 6-1), while the Tar Heels earned victories at the third and sixth positions.
In a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight match, Duke will next battle fourth-ranked Vanderbilt for a trip to the finals on Sunday. In 2001, Vanderbilt defeated Duke 4-1. Saturday's match is scheduled for 3:30 PM (CT).
- d - u - k - e -
No. 2 Duke 5, No. 16 North Carolina 2Doubles 1. Adams/DeRoo (D) d. Mejia/Mojzis (UNC), 9-8 (1)* 2. Johnson/McCain (D) d. Pinchbeck/Rotondi (UNC), 8-0 3. Cline/Bairos (UNC) d. Granson/Plesu (D), 8-5
Duke wins doubles point
Singles 1. Kelly McCain (D) d. Marlene Mejia (UNC), 6-2, 6-3* 2. Amanda Johnson (D) d. Julie Rotondi (UNC), 6-1, 6-1 3. Kate Pinchbeck (UNC) d. Julie DeRoo (D), 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 4. Ioana Plesu (D) d. Aniela Mojzis (UNC), 6-2, 6-3 5. Katie Granson (D) d. Kristin Koenig (UNC), 6-0, 6-1 6. Lee Bairos (UNC) d. Saras Arasu (D), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4
Note: Played tie-break in place of third set at No. 3 singles since match was decided.
Players Mentioned
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