No. 4 Duke Defeats No. 22 Northwestern, 5-2

Sunday, February 1

Durham, N.C.

11:00 AM

Duke University

Northwestern

Duke Defeats Boston College on the Road, 6-1

No. 4 Duke Defeats No. 22 Northwestern, 5-2

2/1/2015 3:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The fourth-ranked Duke women's tennis team remained undefeated this season, posting a 5-2 win over a tough, 22nd-ranked Northwestern team. With the victory, Duke moves to 4-0 on the season, while the Wildcats fall to 1-2.

“Every team at the [Team Indoor Championships] is good,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I told the team that we had to set the tone for the week, today. We can't show up [at the Team Indoor Championships] and try to make our emotional levels and energy like an on-off switch. We had to start that today. We did that. I think they learned that if we do that, we can be a good team. Northwestern's a good team. They're one of the best indoor teams that we'll play all year. Obviously they play a lot of indoor tennis. They have a lot of big hitters. We were able to negate that, but a lot of that was because of our emotional levels.”

For the third consecutive match, the Blue Devils took a 1-0 lead over their opponent after clinching the doubles point. The tandem of senior Ester Goldfeld and sophomore Alyssa Smith led Duke off the courts with a convincing 6-1 win over Northwestern's team of Alicia Barnett and Manon Peri at the No. 1 position. Goldfeld and Smith caught their stride early in the contest with the match tied at 1-1, stringing together five consecutive games to win the match. The team of Goldfeld and Smith moved to 6-3 on the season with the win, and 2-1 in dual match play.

Duke took the doubles point with a strong showing from senior Annie Mulholland and freshman Samantha Harris on court three. After falling behind, 2-4, to Northwestern's duo of Alex Chatt and Rheeya Doshi, Mulholland and Harris recomposed themselves and went on to win four straight games. A break in the final game of the match secured the Duke pair's fourth win this season, as well as the doubles point for the Blue Devils.

“It's always good to get the doubles point,” Harris said. “It's always good to get the wins when you can. We upped our intensity and got through the match. It's always nice, knowing in the back of your mind, that you got the doubles point, going into singles. Annie was always positive on the court, giving me some positive emotion, which is something I think helps a lot. It was great to be able to play alongside her.”

The match between the Duke team of redshirt senior Rachel Kahan and junior Beatrice Capra and Northwestern's tandem of Erin Larner and Lok Sze Leung was abandoned, with Kahan and Capra leading, 5-4, on court two.

After conceding the doubles point, Northwestern provided stout competition for the Blue Devils in singles play, with Duke ultimately winning four of the six singles matches to close out the competition with the victory.

Goldfeld, the 87th ranked singles player in the nation, remained undefeated in dual match play this season following a 6-2, 6-2 win over Larner on court two. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native brought her dominant doubles play to the singles court, opening her match against Larner by going up a break. The two players each held serve, bringing the contest to 2-1, before Goldfeld extended her lead to 4-1 with a serve and a break. After allowing Larner to win one additional game, Goldfeld closed out the opening set, 6-2.

In the second set, Goldfeld established the tone early, going up a break on Larner, before a hold and another break gave her a 3-0 lead. Larner would pull within two games, bringing the second set to 3-1, but Goldfeld once again extended her lead to 5-1, and eventually won the set, and the match, 6-2.

Mulholland proved equally strong in her match with Jillian Rooney on court six. Mulholland took a 3-0 lead over Rooney, before allowing her opponent to win a game. After winning two more games over her opponent, Mulholland held a 5-1 advantage. Rooney would go on to win one additional game in the first set, before Mulholland closed it out.

The opening three games of the second set mirrored the first, with Mulholland taking a 3-0 lead. After Mulholland and Rooney traded games, bringing the set to 4-1, Rooney won two straight games to pull within one of Mulholland. The Portland, Ore., native showed no signs of nerves however, confidently closing the match with a break and a hold for the victory. Mulholland's overall record now sits at 11-5 this season, including a 3-1 mark in dual match play.

Harris, the 55th-ranked singles player in the nation, clinched the win for the Blue Devils with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over Peri on court three. In her first match playing at the No. 3 position, Harris got off to a positive start. With the first set tied at 2-2, Harris won four straight games, taking the set over Peri.

Peri, not deterred by dropping the first set, battled back in the second. Harris found herself in a tight contest, with ties at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3. Peri won two straight games, and although Harris would come within a game of tying Peri in the second set, she was unable to close out, falling, 4-6.

Harris, unfazed after dropping the second set, took a 2-1 lead in the third and never looked back. Harris would go on to win the final four games of the third set and earn her third dual match win of the year. Harris owns an overall record of 11-2 this season.

“I tried to think about what I did in the first set that got me that lead,” Harris said. “I tried to increase my intensity and emotions on the court, while not making stupid errors. I focused on every point and tried to have better placement with my shots. As a team, we all played really well, so we all have a lot of confidence from this win. I think it was one of the better team matches we've played this year, so I think that will put us in a good stead for the upcoming ITA tournament.”

Although the team victory was earned, Capra still found herself in a heated match against Barnett on court one. With Barnett just one game away from taking the first set, Capra fought back from her 3-5 deficit to tie the set at 5-5. With the first set even, Capra continued her aggressive play, winning two more games to finish the first-set comeback.

In the second set, Capra jumped out to a 3-2 advantage, and never relinquished her lead, winning the set, 6-3, and taking the match, 7-5, 6-3. Capra improved to 2-1 in dual matches this season and 3-2 overall.

Kahan suffered her first dual match setback of the year with a 6-3, 2-6, 3-6 loss to Leung on court four. After cruising in the first set by taking a 5-1 lead and eventually winning the set, 6-3, Kahan was unable to maintain the momentum, dropping the second and third sets against Leung. Kahan falls to 10-6 overall and 1-1 in dual matches this season.

On court five, Smith also experienced her first dual match loss of the season, falling to Chatt, 2-6, 3-6. The Laguna Niguel, Calif., native would pull within two games late in each of the two sets, but was unable to earn her third dual match win of the year. Smith now sits at 8-8 on the year and 2-1 in dual match contests.

Duke next travels to Charlottesville, Va., to open play at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The tournament is slated to begin Friday, Feb. 6, and run through Monday, Feb. 9.

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