Blue Devils Drop Heartbreaking Loss To No. 1 Northwestern

Saturday, February 14

Madison, Wi.

All Day

Duke University

Northwestern

Blue Devils Drop Heartbreaking Loss To No. 1 Northwestern

2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

MADISON, Wis.?The Duke University women's tennis team dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to top-ranked Northwestern in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship quarterfinals. The sixth-ranked Blue Devils took the Wildcats to the final match in the narrow setback.

Trailing 3-2 in the match with sophomore Reka Zsilinszka and senior Melissa Mang still on the courts at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, the match went down to the wire.

Zsilinszka rallied from a 6-5 deficit against No. 25 Samantha Murray to take the opening set 7-6. She took that momentum and cruised to a 6-3 victory in the second set to make it 3-3 overall in the match. Ranked 56th in the nation, Zsilinszka pushed her team-best record to 18-5 on the year.

The match came down to Mang at No. 5. The senior captain dropped the opening set 6-4 against Nazlie Ghazal. Needing to pull out a victory in the second set to keep the Blue Devils alive, Mang used an early break to even the match at 1-1 with a 6-3 win.

Just one victory away from upsetting the No. 1 team in the nation, Mang used a break in the third game to take an early 2-1 lead in the third and deciding set. Ghazal held her next two serves and gained momentum to break Mang's serve and put the set back on serve at 3-3. The tension continued to mount as the pair stayed on serve over the next four games to keep it at 5-5. Ghazal held her serve to go up 6-5 and was able to break Mang to ice the victory for the Wildcats with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win.

The day opened with Blue Devils dropping the crucial doubles point for the first time this season as the Wildcats won all three matches. All three contests were very close with Northwestern taking the matches 8-5, 8-6, 9-7.

Sophomores Ellah Nze and Zsilinszka fell narrowly to Samantha Murray and Elena Chernyakova at No. 3, 9-7. It is the first loss for the Blue Devil duo this season.

Duke's No. 1 tandem of Amanda Granson and Mang lost 8-5 to 25th-ranked Georgia Rose and Lauren Lui, while Jessi Robinson and Mallory Cecil dropped an 8-6 decision at No. 2.

The singles proved to be even more exciting as the Wildcats and Blue Devils battled it to the end. Duke tied the score 1-1 when Granson captured a dominant 6-0, 6-2 win over Lui in the fourth singles slot. Granson improves to 15-7 on the year and 5-1 in dual matches.

Northwestern won the next point with a 7-5, 6-3 victory by Keri Robison over Duke's Robinson at No. 6. The loss was just the second for Robinson in dual matches as she falls to 5-2 on the year.

Nze tied the match again for the Blue Devils with a thrilling three-set victory at No. 2. The 43rd-ranked Nze upset No. 28 Georgia Rose 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to improve to 6-0 in duals on the year and 4-2 against nationally-ranked foes overall.

Playing in the No. 1 spot for the fifth straight match was the rookie Cecil. The native of Spartanburg, S.C. came out roaring against top-ranked Maria Mosolova and won the first set 6-1. Mosolova rallied back to take the second set 6-2 and held off the charging Cecil in the third set to post the 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory and give the Wildcats a 3-2 advantage in the overall match and set up the thrilling finish.

The Blue Devils return to action on Feb. 21, hosting Texas A&M at 12 p.m., at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

#1 Northwestern University 4, #8 Duke University 3
Feb 14, 2009 at Madison, Wis. (Nielsen Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #1 Maria Mosolova (NWESTERN) def. Mallory Cecil (DU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3

2. #43 Ellah Nze (DU) def. #28 Georgia Rose (NWESTERN) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2

3. #56 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. #24 Samantha Murray (NWESTERN) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3

4. #48 Amanda Granson (DU) def. Lauren Lui (NWESTERN) 6-0, 6-2

5. Nazlie Ghazal (NWESTERN) def. Melissa Mang (DU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

6. Keri Robison (NWESTERN) def. Jessi Robinson (DU) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. #25 Georgia Rose/Lauren Lui (NWESTERN) def. #20 Amanda Granson/Melissa Mang (DU) 8-5

2. #26 Maria Mosolova/Keri Robison (NWESTERN) def. Jessi Robinson/Mallory Cecil (DU) 8-6