Women's Tennis Falls to Tar Heels

Sunday, February 14

Madison, Wis.

4:30 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Women's Tennis Falls to Tar Heels

2/14/2010 9:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

MADISON, Wis.-The Duke University women's tennis team had its run to the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship ended this evening when 11th-ranked North Carolina edged the top-ranked Blue Devils 4-3 loss. The match came down to a three-set battle between the Tar Heel's Sanaz Marand and Duke's Ellah Nze.

"We definitely had chances and we had chances in doubles," head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "We let them hang around a little bit. We competed well, but we needed to finish points better than we did today."

Possessing two of the best doubles squads in the nation, North Carolina garnered the first point of the match with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 with the 6th and 22nd-ranked tandems, respectively. The pair of Katrina Tsang and Shinann Featherston grabbed an 8-3 win at No. 2 before Duke evened the score with a 9-8 victory by Monica Gorny and Jessica Stiles in the third position.

The sixth-ranked duo of Marand and Sophi Grabinski clinched the point, edging Amanda Granson and Nze at No. 1, 8-6.

The Tar Heels grabbed a 2-0 lead as Tsang cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 20 Reka Zsilinszka at No. 1 singles. Gorny put Duke on the scoreboard as she defeated Grabinski 6-4, 6-0 in the fifth singles spot. North Carolina moved one step closer to the championship match with a 6-4, 7-6 victory from Zoe De Bruycker at No. 4 singles.

The remaining three matches were all extremely close with two heading into the third set. On court six, freshman Mary Clayton came through in a big way, winning 7-6, 7-6 over Featherston to make it a 3-2 score. The drama continued to build as senior Elizabeth Plotkin evened the score with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Jelena Durisic at No. 3 singles.

With the match on the line, an outstanding battle was unfolding on court two between No. 25 Marand and No. 91 Nze. Marand eked out the first set 7-6 before Nze won the second set 6-4 to set up a thrilling finish for a spot in the championship round. The third set proved to be much of the same as Marand and Nze went toe-to-toe. Leading 5-4, the Tar Heel senior captured the final game to win the match 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 and give North Carolina the 4-3 victory.

"One of the reasons we always play this tournament is to play in matches like this," Ashworth said. "And I think we showed we can compete with anyone in the country this weekend. It's similar to the situation we were in last year losing to a top team and then coming back to beat them later in the season. We will be looking forward to the regular season match with North Carolina."

"In the meantime we have a match against a tough Michigan team and then Florida," Ashworth said. "I think these girls know they can compete with anybody."

The Blue Devils will host 16th-ranked Michigan next on Feb. 20 at 12 p.m.

North Carolina 4, Duke 3
Feb 14, 2010 at Madison, Wis. (Nielsen Tennis Stadium)

Singles competition

1. #100 Katrina Tsang (UNC) def. #20 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) 6-2, 6-1

2. #25 Sanaz Marand (UNC) def. #91 Ellah Nze (DU) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4

3. Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) def. Jelena Durisic (UNC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

4. Zoe De Bruycker (UNC) def. #80 Amanda Granson (DU) 6-4, 7-6 (4-0)

5. #63 Monica Gorny (DU) def. Sophi Grabinski (UNC) 6-4, 6-0

6. Mary Clayton (DU) def. Shinann Featherston (UNC) 7-6 (3-0), 7-6 (3-0)

Doubles competition

1. #6 Sanaz Marand/Sophi Grabinski (UNC) def. Ellah Nze/Amanda Granson (DU) 8-6

2. #22 Katrina Tsang/Shinann Featherston (UNC) def. Reka Zsilinszka/Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) 8-3