Blue Devils Rally For Victory Over North Carolina

Wednesday, April 1

Chapel Hill, N.C.

3:00 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Zsilinszka Advances in NCAA Singles Championships

Blue Devils Rally For Victory Over North Carolina

4/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.?Duke University sophomore Reka Zsilinszka captured a thrilling three set victory to give the ninth-ranked Blue Devils a 4-3 win over No. 18 North Carolina today at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Zsilinszka defeated Grabinski 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to earn a Carlyle Cup point for Duke.

A valiant comeback win by senior Jessi Robinson at sixth singles tied the match 3-3, setting up a thrilling finish in Zsilinszka's three-set contest against Grabinski. The win pushes Duke to 14-3 overall and 4-1 in the ACC.

“It's my last year,” Robinson said. “I grew up in a Duke-UNC rivalry household. Even though the match wasn't at home, it felt like everyone was there supporting us. Melissa [Mang] and I had a little talk before the match saying it [could be] our last chance to beat North Carolina. So it meant everything to me and to be a part of the win in singles was awesome.”

Zsilinszka controlled the opening set against Grabinski, 6-2, but the Tar Heel's No. 3 player rallied for a 6-2 win in the second set to force a decisive third set. With the crowd's eyes glued to the deciding match, Zsilinszka grabbed an early break to go up 2-1. The Fayetteville, N.C. cruised after that to win the match for the Blue Devils.

The Tar Heels (14-7, 4-3) got off to a good start, sweeping all three doubles matches. Two of the three contests went down to the wire, but it was North Carolina coming through in the tie-breakers that earned it the first point of the afternoon.

The fourth-ranked tandem of Sanaz Marand and Sophie Grabinski captured the first win 8-4 over Duke's pair of Mallory Cecil and Robinson at second doubles.

First and third doubles were incredibly close with both going into tiebreakers. The Tar Heels' Laura Reichert and Meg Fanjoy clinched the point as they snuck past Duke's Ellah Nze and Zsilinszka, 9-8(5) at No. 3. Duke top pair of Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson faced the same fate, falling to Austin Smith and Katrina Tsang by the identical score.

North Carolina pushed its advantage to 3-0 with victories at No. 2 and No. 4 before Duke started its comeback. Cecil battled her way to victory at No. 1 over Tsang 6-4, 6-2 for her 14th victory of the season.

Mang made it a 3-2 match as she pushed her win streak to five matches with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Fanjoy at No. 5. Her 15-2 record is tied for the best on the team.

Needing a win to stay in the match, Robinson turned in an excellent performance in the sixth spot. After dropping the first set 6-3, the senior captain dominated the final two sets to take a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 win over Reichert. The win tied the match 3-3 and set up the thrilling finish by Zsilinszka.

“I was getting the short balls I wanted and I was missing,” Robinson said. “I was getting a little bit too down on myself so I made sure I didn't give her anything to feed off of. I was running down balls and I had a couple key points early in the second set where I made her hit three balls that should have been winners and she got frustrated. It was more about being mentally tough today.”

The one point moves Duke to within three points, 11.5-8.5, in the Carlyle Cup standings.

The Blue Devils return home for the first time since February, hosting ACC foes Virginia and Virginia Tech at 12 p.m., on April 4 and April 5, respectively.

#9 Duke University 4, #18 University of North Carolina 3
Apr 01, 2009 at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #31 Mallory Cecil (DU) def. #63 Katrina Tsang (UNC) 6-4, 6-2

2. #61 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. #28 Ellah Nze (DU) 6-3, 6-3

3. #40 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. #95 Sophie Grabinski (UNC) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1

4. Austin Smith (UNC) def. #75 Amanda Granson (DU) 6-4, 6-4

5. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Meg Fanjoy (UNC) 6-1, 6-3

6. Jessi Robinson (DU) def. Laura Reichert (UNC) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition

1. #61 Austin Smith/Katrina Tsang (UNC) def. #18 Amanda Granson/Melissa Mang (DU) 9-8 (7-5)

2. #4 Sophie Grabinski/Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. Jessi Robinson/Mallory Cecil (DU) 8-4

3. Laura Reichert/Meg Fanjoy (UNC) def. Ellah Nze/Reka Zsilinszka (DU) 9-8 (7-5)