Make It Seven Straight; Duke Blanks Wake Forest

Wednesday, April 8

Durham, N.C.

3:00 p.m.

Duke University

Wake Forest

Make It Seven Straight; Duke Blanks Wake Forest

4/8/2009 7:15:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C.?For the second time in three matches, the Duke University women's tennis team rolled to a 7-0 win against an ACC foe. The fifth-ranked Blue Devils blanked No. 37 Wake Forest, 7-0, this afternoon at a windy Ambler Tennis Stadium.

Duke pushes its record to 18-3 overall and 8-1 in the ACC. The Blue Devils remain unbeaten at home this season with a perfect 10-0 mark in Durham and have won the past seven matches. Wake Forest falls to 12-9 and 3-5 in the ACC.

“We didn't want to look ahead,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I know everyone on our team has been talking about Georgia Tech and Clemson this weekend and senior weekend. I didn't want them to get caught looking ahead. I told them the other day ?We've put ourselves in a good position all year and now this is the week we have to take advantage of it and that started with this match today.”

Looking to continue their solid doubles play of late, the Blue Devils jumped out in front quickly to take a 1-0 lead with wins at No. 3 and No. 2 doubles. Sophomores Reka Zsilinszka and Ellah Nze cruised to their 18th dual match victory with an 8-2 triumph in the third spot. Senior Jessi Robinson and rookie Mallory Cecil were right behind them, coming away with an 8-4 victory in the second slot.

With the doubles point in hand, the 18th-ranked pair of Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson completed the sweep by outlasting Sasha Kulikova and Sierra Poske 8-7 (7-2). It marked the third consecutive match where Duke has swept doubles.

“I thing we're playing better [at doubles],” Ashworth said. “You can see some of the things that we've been working on at practice. Moving forward and holding our ground on the baseline a little bit more instead of backing up. You can see those kinds of things which is a good sign. We need to do that for this week and for the ACC Tournament coming up.”

Zsilinszka and Nze did not miss a beat in their singles matches. Playing in the third slot, Zsilinszka breezed her way to her 19th victory this spring, dropping Emilee Malvehy 6-0, 6-3. The 28th-ranked Nze gave Duke the 3-0 lead moments later as she dominated Poske 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2. Nze is now 16-4 overall on the year.

“One of the big things for us this year is that when we've played well, Ellah [Nze] has played well, and she's struggled lately,” Ashworth said. “So it was really good to see her get off the court quick. It was good for Ellah and I think it will help our team in the long run. In my mind, going in today it was important for Ellah to have a good match so to see her do that was really good.”

Robinson extended her win streak to eight matches with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Katarina Reveche at No. 6. Robinson is now 8-1 in conference play and 14-7 overall. Mang captured her 98th career victory this afternoon as she dispatched Ryann Cutillo 7-5, 6-1. The native of New Orleans, La., needs just two more wins to become the 17th player in Duke women's tennis history to record 100 career victories.

Granson and Cecil were the last two off the courts for the Blue Devils. Duke's No. 4 singles player, 75th-ranked Granson pushed her way past Christian Tara 6-4, 6-4. With the entire crowd focused on Court One, Cecil rebounded from a tough second set to take the super tiebreaker and give Duke the unblemished 7-0 win. The No. 31 Cecil edged No. 55 Kulikova 7-5, 2-6 (10-5) for her 18th career win.

Duke closes out its regular season this weekend, hosting ACC rivals Clemson and Georgia Tech. All three squads are carrying just one loss in conference action coming into the weekend. The two matches will help determine seeding for the upcoming ACC Tournament.

#5 Duke University 7, #37 Wake Forest University 0
Apr 08, 2009 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)

Singles competition

1. #31 Mallory Cecil (DU) def. #55 Sasha Kulikova (WAKE) 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-5)

2. #28 Ellah Nze (DU) def. Sierra Poske (WAKE) 6-1, 6-0

3. #40 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Emilee Malvehy (WAKE) 6-0, 6-3

4. #75 Amanda Granson (DU) def. Christian Tara (WAKE) 6-4, 6-4

5. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Ryann Cutillo (WAKE) 7-5, 6-1

6. Jessi Robinson (DU) def. Katarina Reveche (WAKE) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. #18 Melissa Mang/Amanda Granson (DU) def. Sasha Kulikova/Sierra Poske (WAKE) 8-7 (7-2)

2. Jessi Robinson/Mallory Cecil (DU) def. Emilee Malvehy/Aileen Davis (WAKE) 8-4

3. Reka Zsilinszka/Ellah Nze (DU) def. Christian Tara/Katarina Reveche (WAKE) 8-2