No. 6 Duke Women Down Northwestern 4-3

Sunday, February 6

Evanston, Ill.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Northwestern

Duke Falls to Florida State in Regular Season Finale

No. 6 Duke Women Down Northwestern 4-3

2/6/2011 6:21:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

EVANSTON, Ill. – The Duke women's tennis team downs Northwestern 4-3, after dropping the doubles point for the first time this season. Senior Ellah Nze clinched the win for the Blue Devils in the final match from the No. 4 spot.

Duke opened the match losing all three doubles matches for the first time all season as Northwestern would take an early 1-0 lead. The Blue Devils eventually went on to win four out of six singles to claim the win and remain unbeaten.

“Our doubles didn't play well at all and Northwestern is a good team,” said head coach Jamie Ashworth. “Today was the first time we have been pressured in doubles and we didn't respond well. Singles showed us a lot about our depth today. We did a good job of not giving them an advantage from doubles and it was huge for Elizabeth [Plotkin] and Rachel [Kahan] to get those two quick wins to get us on the board early. “

Once again freshman Rachel Kahan gave a spark from the No. 5 spot by completing her fifth match this season in straight sets to tie the score at one a piece. With the score tied Northwestern's Maria Mosolova put the Wildcats up 2-1 with a win from the No. 1 spot over Nadine Fahoum, 6-1, 6-0.

Senior Elizabeth Plotkin was the next Blue Devil to finish her match. She defeated Kate Turvy in straight sets 6-0, 6-3 to tie the score at two. Sophomore Mary Clayton continued her strong singles play as she needed three sets to give Duke the lead in the match once again.

“I talked to Rachel and told her that she could win really quick and she has done that all year,” said Plotkin. “Even though we lost the doubles point we weren't really worried because of our depth. The younger players on our team are really mature and understand what goes on out there. Mary did a really good job and won quickly as well. Our team plays at a high level of maturity and we are all proud of how we responded today to get the win. “

With two matches remaining the Wildcats wouldn't back down and sent the matches to third sets. Reka Zsilinszka battled Brittany Wowchuk on court two and eventually fell 1-6, 6-4, 3-6 to make put the score even at three.
The final match on the day was the decider for both schools. Senior Ellah Nze fell in the first set and eventually battled back to win the final two and grabbed the final point of the match to give the Blue Devils the 4-3 win.

The Blue Devils (6-0) will square off with No. 2 Florida on Feb. 13 in the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. First serve will be at 12 p.m., with live stats and live video available courtesy of GoDuke.com.

-d-u-k-e-

#6 Duke 4, #23 Northwestern 3
Feb 06, 2011 at Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. #52 Maria Mosolova (NU) def. #25 Nadine Fahoum (DU) 6-1, 6-0

2. #66 Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. #4 Reka Zsilinska (DU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3

3. #71 Elizabeth Plotkin (DU) def. #120 Kate Turvy (NU) 6-0, 6-3

4. #49 Ellah Nze (DU) def. #76 Belinda Niu (NU) 2-6, 7-6, 6-3

5. Rachel Kahan (DU) def. Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) 6-2, 6-1

6. #43 Mary Clayton (DU) def. Stacey Lee (NU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. #30 Linda Abu Mushrefova/Nida Hamilton (NU) def. #4 Nadine Fahoum/Ellah Nze (DU) 8-6

2. Elena Chernyakova/Brittany Wowchuk (NU) def. #39 Mary Clayton/Monica Gorny (DU) 8-4