Women's Tennis Advances to NCAA Sweet 16

Saturday, May 10

Durham, N.C.

11:00 a.m.

Duke University

William & Mary (Second Round)

Iyer Wins Again To Advance To Riviera/ITA All-American Championship

Women's Tennis Advances to NCAA Sweet 16

5/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? The No. 9 Duke women's tennis team claimed a 4-1 victory over No. 24 William & Mary in the NCAA Tournament second round on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Blue Devils got off to a good start with strong showings in doubles at the No. 2 and 3 spots. Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka cruised to an 8-2 win over Carmen Pop and Lauren Sabacinski at No. 3 to start the day. Tara Iyer and Jessi Robinson then finished off Ragini Acharya and Klaudyna Kasztelaniec, 8-2, in the No. 2 slot to clinch the doubles point.

“We came out and played a lot better in doubles than yesterday,” said head coach Jamie Ashworth. “In looking at the matchups, I thought No. 2 would be a struggle for us with the style their team played. We served much bigger than we did yesterday and were a lot more aggressive. If we can do that we can play good doubles with anybody. Our No. 3 team has been solid all year.”

Duke got off to an equally good beginning in singles and looked as though they were going to run away with the match. Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson each swept their first sets, 6-0, while Iyer and Nze won 6-2 to start off singles.

“The start in singles was the best thing we did all day,” said Ashworth. “We started the year with the saying ?what happens in doubles, stays in doubles' so no matter if we win or lose the doubles point you still have to go out and play singles. I don't think we have won the doubles point and lost the match all year.”

The only first sets the Tribe were able to win were at the No. 3 and No. 6 spots. One of those was by Pop at the No. 6 position. She went on to even the team score at 1-1 with a straight-set win over Jessi Robinson 7-5, 6-0.

Mang regained the lead for the Blue Devils with an easy 6-1 second-set win over Kasztelaniec. Mang improved to 21-3 in singles with the victory. Granson also closed out her match in straight sets with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Sabacinski. Granson is now 16-7 overall and 16-3 when playing at the No. 5 spot in the order.

The remaining three matches were neck-and-neck. Iyer, who is ranked No. 125 in the ITA singles rankings, fell behind in the second set 4-3 against No. 12 Megan Moulton-Levy. Iyer battled back to win two straight games and take a 5-4 lead. Then with Moulton-Levy serving, Iyer broke serve to clinch the match and send the Blue Devils into the next round with a 6-2, 6-4 win. She improved to 11-11 overall this season.

Duke will face eighth-seeded in the Sweet Sixteen on May 15, as the remaining NCAA Tournament matches will take place at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., from May 15-26.

College of William & Mary vs Duke University

May 10, 2008 at Durham, N.C.
NCAA Tournament Second Round

No. 9 Duke 4, No. 24 William & Mary 1

Doubles
1. No. 7 Amanda Granson/Melissa Mang (DU) vs. No. 10 Megan Moulton-Levy/Katarina Zoricic (WM) unfinished
2. Tara Iyer/Jessi Robinson (DU) def. Ragini Acharya/Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (WM) 8-2
3. Ellah Nze/Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Carmen Pop/Lauren Sabacinski (WM) 8-2

Singles
1. No. 125 Tara Iyer (DU) def. #12 Megan Moulton-Levy (WM) 6-2, 6-4
2. No. 21 Ellah Nze (DU) vs. Katarina Zoricic (WM) (6-2, 4-6) unfinished
3. No. 24 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) vs. #119 Ragini Acharya (WM) (5-7, 1-2) unfinished
4. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (WM) 6-0, 6-1
5. Amanda Granson (DU) def. Lauren Sabacinski (WM) 6-0, 6-4
6. Carmen Pop (WM) def. Jessi Robinson (DU) 7-5, 6-0

Match Notes:
William & Mary 18-8; National ranking #24
Duke University 19-4; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,4,5,1)