Duke Drops Match Against No. 2 Florida

Friday, February 20

Gainesville, Fla.

3:00 PM

Duke University

Florida

Duke Drops Match Against No. 2 Florida

2/20/2015 7:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The 16th-ranked Duke women's tennis team was unable to stop its three-match skid Friday, falling to second-ranked Florida, 4-0, in Gainesville, Fla. The loss dropped Duke's record to 4-4 on the year, and marked the first time since the 2012-13 season the Blue Devils lost four consecutive matches.

Duke found itself in a challenging position early in the contest, conceding the doubles point to the Gators and falling behind 0-1 in the team score.

The Duke pair of senior Annie Mulholland and freshman Samantha Harris faced a game opponent in Florida's Spencer Liang and Belinda Woolcock. Mulholland and Harris jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the duo's momentum stalled as Liang and Woolcock won six straight games. The Blue Devil tandem was unable to overcome the four-game deficit, falling 3-8. The loss at the No. 3 position is the first of the dual match season for the tandem, which now owns a 4-1 mark.

The Gators closed out doubles play with an 8-4 win over the Blue Devils, as the fourth-ranked team of Brooke Austin and Kourtney Keegan handed senior Ester Goldfeld and sophomore Alyssa Smith their fourth dual match doubles loss of the season. Similar to the match on court three, the competition at the No. 1 position was an evenly matched affair, with the two teams tied at 3-3. The Duke pair was unable to keep pace with the Gator duo, however, as Austin and Keegan put together a string of five straight games to earn the victory and secure the doubles point for the Gators.

The match on court two between the Duke team of junior Beatrice Capra and redshirt senior Rachel Kahan and Florida's ninth-ranked pair of Peggy Porter and Josie Kuhlman remained unfinished, with the Gator pair leading, 6-4.

Although Duke put in strong efforts on all six courts, the Blue Devils were unable to earn a victory in singles.

The Gators took a 2-0 lead over Duke after Smith suffered an 0-6, 2-6 defeat against 44th-ranked Keegan on court five. The setback, the 11th of Smith's season, dropped the Laguna Niguel, Calif., native's dual match record to 2-4.

Capra dropped just her second dual match of the season on court one to give the Gators a 3-0 lead, as sixth-ranked Austin bested the Ellicott City, Md., native, 6-7, 2-6. Neither competitor saw a significant advantage in the first set, with the score tied at 1-1, 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5. With the score at 5-5, Austin did not allow Capra to take another first-set game, winning the final two. In the second set, Capra and Austin once again sat tied at 2-2, before Austin asserted herself and closed out the second set by winning four straight games for the victory. Capra moved to 3-3 on the year with the loss.

The match was ultimately decided on court four, as 27th-ranked Woolcock upended 94th-ranked Kahan, 4-6, 5-7. Woolcock and Kahan proved evenly matched, with the first-set score separated by no more than one game until finally, with Kahan trailing 4-5, Woolcock closed the set. In the second set, Woolcock took a sizeable 1-5 lead over Kahan, before the Unionville, Conn., native put together a run of her own, winning four straight to tie the set at 5-5. Unfortunately, Kahan's momentum would carry her no further, as Woolcock won the final two games to clinch the Gator victory.

With the match clinched, matches on courts two, three and six remained unfinished. Thirty-eighth ranked Goldfeld trailed third-ranked Kuhlman, 6-7 (4), 4-5, on court two, while 115th-ranked Harris was heading to a third set with 13th-ranked Brianna Morgan (6-4, 5-7). On court six, Mulholland trailed 91st-ranked Peggy Porter, 6-4, 2-6, 2-4.

Duke returns to action tomorrow afternoon, taking on 10th-ranked Stanford in a neutral site match in Gainesville. The contest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

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