Completed Event: Women's Tennis at #1 Auburn on May 8, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 4
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Final
Women's Tennis
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at #1 Auburn
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Looking Back on Duke's Championship Season
7/28/2009 10:15:00 AM | Women's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C.--The 2009 season was one for the ages for the Duke women's tennis team. As the weeks came and went, the Blue Devils picked up steam and hit the perfect speed at just the right time. While numerous teams, 27 in fact, have reached the pinnacle of women's tennis, it is the way Duke climbed to the same point that made it even more impressive.
Playing with just six players throughout the season due to injuries to Elizabeth Plotkin and Tara Iyer, the Blue Devils dug deep every match and fulfilled their dream of lifting the trophy in the final match of the year.
After cruising to wins in the first couple of weeks, the Blue Devils hit the road to the National Team Indoor Championship. Seeded eighth overall, Duke breezed past Wisconsin in the quarterfinal to set up a match with top-ranked Northwestern in the semifinal.
The Blue Devils went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats, matching them shot-for-shot. However, they came up just short, losing a three-set heartbreaker in the final match to fall 4-3. The team rebounded the next day and upset No. 4 Baylor 4-3.
"They responded and played really really well [in singles against Baylor] and I think it was that weekend that really helped define our season,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I think they realized that they could compete with anybody in the country and if we did little things well and if we competed really well we would be tough to beat. That weekend more than any other weekend really set the tone – and it was weird because it started with a loss.”
Two weeks removed from its loss to Northwestern, Duke traveled to Evanston, Ill., to avenge the loss to the Wildcats. In a reversal of fortunes, the Blue Devils upended No. 1 and unbeaten Northwestern on its home courts 4-3.
“For us as coaches I think it gave our girls something to believe in. [A belief that] we can do this and that we can be as good as we want to be. We can get beat by anybody, but we can compete with anybody.”
Brimming with confidence and climbing to fourth in the national polls after the win, Duke looked ahead to the outdoor season and starting the grueling ACC schedule.
After suffering a slight setback to fourth-ranked Notre Dame in the middle of March, the Blue Devils kicked off their ACC slate at Florida State. Easing past the Seminoles in the league opener, Duke hit one more bump in the road in a 5-2 loss to rival Miami in the Florida sun.
“I actually think Notre Dame was one of the best teams we played all year,” Ashworth said. “Then the match in Miami, they're good and that's just a tough place to play. We really never play well there.”
They brushed off the two losses and quickly got back to work and started to put together what ended up being an 18-match win streak to close out the season.
Duke went on to win the next three contests with ease and met up with North Carolina in a midweek tilt. The Tar Heels took the doubles point before the match was moved inside due to rain. North Carolina won the first two singles points to go ahead 3-0 before Duke captured the final four points, including winning two three-set matches, for the 4-3 victory.
The match like that against North Carolina was another situation the Blue Devils could put in the back of their minds and bring out as they headed into postseason play.
“[Matches like that] make everybody match tough,” Ashworth said. “Everyone has been in every situation there is and when you get to the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament there are no surprises as far as the moment goes.”
Duke closed out the regular season against top programs Clemson and Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils came away with a hard-fought 6-1 victory over the Tigers in the opener and captured a share of the regular season title by narrowly beating the Yellowjackets 4-3 the following afternoon.
Seemingly playing their best tennis of the year, the Blue Devils went into the ACC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. Duke dispatched Virginia and North Carolina to set up a rematch with Miami in the championship.
Unlike during the regular season, Duke took the crucial doubles point. The duo of Mallory Cecil and Jessi Robinson were outstanding in an 8-5 win at No. 2. Melissa Mang and Amanda Granson finished off the Hurricanes, upsetting the 13th-ranked pair in thrilling fashion 8-6.
Confident, the Blue Devils battled their way to a 3-2 lead with Robinson and Reka Zsilinszka still playing. Robinson dropped a tough three-set decision, tying the match 3-3. At that moment all eyes turned to court three and Zsilinszka did not disappoint.
After losing the first set, she came back to win the second and proceeded fought off three match points to force a tiebreak in the third set to decide the match. With an early 4-2 lead in the tiebreak, Zsilinszka held off her opponent's comeback and won the final two points for the 7-5 tiebreak win.
“It is by far the best feeling ever,” Zsilinszka said after the match. “It is by far the best match ever for me. I can't even describe the feeling it is. It was such a dejá vu. I lost 7-6 (8-6) in the third last year and it has traumatized me to this moment. I feel like I redeemed myself.”
Seeing the final couple of weeks unfold, the reality of winning the national championship started to creep into the mind of Ashworth. He liked the attitude of his team and that they had been in almost every imaginable situation on the court.
“I think towards the end of the regular season, just the attitude [really put the national championship in sight].” Ashworth said. “The ACC tournament match against North Carolina, it was then when I saw that how well we were playing in doubles. That was the first time that I really thought that we could win the whole thing, if we competed well, and if we played with the same emotion.”
The Blue Devils earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosted the opening two rounds at Ambler Tennis Stadium. While they knew they had to be ready for every match, the one match circled on everyone's calendar was the potential quarterfinal contest with ACC rival Miami.
“We had this whole thing of thinking that the winner of us and Miami is going to win the national title,” Ashworth said.
After clearing the way to College Station with wins over Richmond and Virginia, Ashworth noticed a certain swagger about his team.
“This was the first team that I've ever had that wasn't going into the round of 16 with the mindset of, 'we could win it', but they honestly believed that they should win it, and it was such a noticeable thing,” Ashworth said.
The Blue Devils met up with Arkansas in the round of 16 and for the first time since April 1, they lost the doubles point. Ashworth saw the loss as a wakeup call for his team. The squad quickly rebounded with four singles wins to earn a spot in the quarterfinal round against Miami.
The quarterfinal match that Duke circled had arrived and the Blue Devils were confident heading into the contest against the Hurricanes.
This time though, the match was filled with a little less drama. Duke took the doubles point with wins from Mang and Granson at No. 1 and Ellah Nze and Zsilinszka at No. 2.
Cecil came out on fire in singles and got of the court quickly with a 6-2, 6-1 win to give Duke a 2-0 lead in the match. Miami got a point back to make it 2-1. Unfolding on court four was perhaps the highlights of the match. Granson, who had lost to Morgan Kissell twice before, turned in a stellar performance. The junior dropped the opening set 6-3, but buckled down to take the next two sets 6-1, 6-3 and put Duke ahead 3-1. Zsilinszka clinched the match and sent Duke to its first semifinal appearance since 2003.
“We had a lot of confidence in that match, especially when we won doubles,” Ashworth said. “We just had a belief that we were going to win. I think beating Miami in the quarters of the NCAA tournament was the biggest match for us the entire year, because it let our team realize that if we got by them, we could win the tournament.”
As predicted, the quarterfinal proved to be Duke's toughest test of the tournament. The Blue Devils raced past the Georgia 5-2 in the semifinals despite No. 1 Cecil losing her first match since March 22. It was just the fourth time the rookie had lost that season.
“I hate to see people lose, but it showed our team that we could beat a top five team in the country without [Mallory] winning,” Ashworth said. “Ellah [Nze] played well, Melissa [Mang] played really well, as did Reka [Zsilinszka]. It all started with the doubles. Jess [Robinson] and Mal [Cecil] played great doubles.”
Riding high on its 17-match win streak, Duke made it 18 with the biggest victory of the year on May 19. The Blue Devils took on No. 8 California in the title tilt and made quick work of the Bears in a 4-0 victory.
Doubles play was strong with wins at No. 2 and No. 3, and Zsilinszka made quick work of her opponent in singles action for the 2-0 lead. Then the magic started to unfold on courts five and six.
Playing in the final match of their careers, the senior tandem of Mang and Robinson stamped Duke's place in the history book as they won their matches within moments of each other. Robinson turned in a furious rally in the second set to come back from a 4-2 deficit to win 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6. At the opposite end of the stadium it was Mang punching the ticket for the Blue Devils with a forehand winner for the 6-1, 6-3 triumph at No. 5.
“It's unbelievable,” Robinson said following the match. “I don't even have any words to describe the feeling. I love these girls and it's an amazing feeling.”
“It hasn't quite sunk in yet, but it's unbelievable,” Mang said. “I'm just so proud of these girls. To win this with Jess [Robinson] in our senior year is amazing. I could not ask for anything better.”
Zsilinszka took home the tournament's Most Valuable Player Award after going 5-0 and not dropping a single set during the 10 days.
While the talent on the court the Blue Devils possessed on the court was great, it was the team's ability to pull together and fight for each other throughout the season that led them to the top Ashworth believes.
“I think this was by far the closest team I had as far as trusting each other, believing in each other and wanting to win for each other,” Ashworth said. “And I think that we had a lot of leaders in different ways and that really was so important to our success. I'm so proud of them. I couldn't ask for more out of these girls.”
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Players Mentioned
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