Duke Women's Tennis Picks Up 15th ACC Championship With 4-2 Win Over UNC

Sunday, April 20

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Duke Women's Tennis Picks Up 15th ACC Championship With 4-2 Win Over UNC

4/20/2003 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

April 20, 2003

RALEIGH, N.C. - For the 15th time over the last 16 years, the third-ranked Duke women's tennis team brought home the ACC Championship title with a 4-2 victory over 11th-ranked North Carolina on Sunday at the Millbrook Exchange Tennis Center in Raleigh, N.C.

The match was revenge for the Blue Devils who lost a 4-3 decision to the Tar Heels last year, which broke Duke's 14-year streak of winning the championship. Overall, Duke has now won 153 out of the last 155 matches against ACC opponents since 1989.

For only the third time this season, Duke was faced with having to come back from a 1-0 deficit after doubles action. North Carolina jumped out to leads in all three doubles matches and ended up winning at No. 2 and No. 3 to take the early 1-0 lead. The Tar Heels received an 8-4 victory at the second slot as Marlene Mejia and Lee Bairos knocked off sixth-ranked Amanda Johnson and Julie DeRoo. Then, 40th-ranked Kendrick Bunn and Kate Pinchbeck defeated Duke's 40th-ranked Katie Granson and Julia Smith, 8-6. The loss for the Blue Devil duo of Granson and Smith was only their third dual match loss this season.

The momentum would not stay long with North Carolina as the Blue Devils won the first set in four of the six singles matches. Granson, ranked 115 from Bethlehem, Pa., evened the match with a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Tanja Markovic. Then with back-to-back wins at No. 1 and No. 2, third-ranked Kelly McCain and 18th-ranked Johnson gave Duke a commanding 3-1 advantage. McCain made quick work of 13th-ranked Pinchbeck (6-0, 6-3) and Johnson did the same with 38th-ranked Mejia (6-3, 6-0).

North Carolina came back to cut the Duke lead to 3-2 with a 6-3, 6-2 victory by 67th-ranked Aniela Mojzis over 49th-ranked Saras Arasu. The Blue Devils then clinched the victory on the fourth court as 98th-ranked DeRoo downed Kendall Cline by a 6-3, 6-1 score. After notching the match-clinching victory, DeRoo became the 16th Blue Devil to earn MVP accolades.

"I think people can get complacent winning ACC Championships and people take it for granted," said Duke Head Coach Jamie Ashworth. "I think the older members of the team started taking these for granted and as a coach our preparation may not of been as great last year as it was this year. Coming in here trying to get something back instead of not trying to defend something is a different mentality and I think we played like that all week."

"We lost the doubles point today and it was still the same mentality going in to singles," said Ashworth. "Obviously we jumped on them right in the front with the singles play."

Duke 4, North Carolina 2

Singles
1. #3 Kelly McCain (DU) d. #13 Kate Pinchbeck (UNC) 6-0, 6-3
2. #18 Amanda Johnson (DU) d. #38 Marlene Mejia (UNC)  6-3, 6-0
3. #67 Aniela Mojzis (UNC) d. #49 Saras Arasu (DU) 6-3, 6-2
4. #98 Julie DeRoo (DU) d. Kendall Cline (UNC) 6-3, 6-1
5. #T60 Katie Blaszak (DU) vs. Lee Bairos (UNC) DNF
6. #115 Katie Granson (DU) d. Tanja Markovic (UNC)  6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. #10 McCain/Adams (DU) vs. #16 Mojzis/Cline (UNC) DNF
2. Mejia/Bairos (UNC) d. #6 DeRoo/Johnson (DU) 8-4
3. #40 Bunn/Pinchbeck (UNC) d. #60 Katie Granson/Julia Smith (DU)  8-6

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