Duke Defeats Boston College on the Road, 6-1

Friday, March 6

Chesnut Hill, Mass.

5:00 PM

Duke University

Boston College

Duke Defeats Boston College on the Road, 6-1

3/6/2015 10:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The 21st-ranked Duke women's tennis team remained undefeated in conference matches this season after upending 45th-ranked Boston College, 6-1, Friday in Chestnut Hill, Mass. With the win, Duke moved to 7-5 on the season, including 2-1 in road contests.

“On both doubles courts, we didn't give a lot of free points, and we played really efficient and valued every point,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “That's something we talked about. We did a good job of that, playing smart and not giving away points. It was the cleanest doubles we've played in awhile.”

For the third straight match, Duke held an early 1-0 advantage after winning the doubles point. The Blue Devils earned the opening point in dominant fashion, taking the matches on both court one and two by a score of 8-1.

The tandem of senior Ester Goldfeld and sophomore Alyssa Smith led Duke off the doubles courts after defeating Boston College's pair of Lexi Borr and Jessica Wacnik. The Blue Devils never trailed in the contest, taking a 5-0 lead before dropping their lone game of the match. Goldfeld and Smith moved to 3-6 on the season with the win, breaking a five-match skid in the process.

The doubles point was clinched after Duke's duo of senior Annie Mulholland and freshman Samantha Harris upended the pair of Asiya Dair and Jennifer Renn. Similar to Goldfeld and Smith, the team of Mulholland and Harris led 5-0 before the two lost their only game of the match. Mulholland and Harris move to a team-best 7-1 in dual matches with the win.

The match between Duke's Beatrice Capra and Rachel Kahan and Boston College's Emily Safron and Katya Vasilyev was abandoned, with the Blue Devils leading, 5-2.

In singles, the Blue Devils posted a 5-1 record against the Eagles, securing the win for Duke.

“Fifteen minutes into the singles matches, I thought we were playing smart and efficient,” Ashworth said. “It was the best start we've had. And then we just took our foot off the gas. The courts were so fast. It's a tough facility to play in because there's not a lot of space behind the courts. The girls from Boston College responded when we took our foot off the gas, and they started to believe they could win points in games. We definitely made it tougher on ourselves by not finishing as well as we started. That's something we have to learn from.”

Kahan, the 86th-ranked singles player in the country, cruised in her match against Vasilyev, taking the contest, 6-1, 6-0, on court three. The win moved Kahan to 11-12 overall this season and marked her second victory at the No. 3 position this year.

On court one, 51st-ranked Goldfeld moved within four matches of the 100-win mark after outlasting 71st-ranked Wacnik, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. After never trailing in the first set, Goldfeld fell behind in the second and was unable to overcome the deficit. In the third set, Goldfeld led 3-2 before closing out the contest by winning three straight games. Goldfeld currently owns a 17-9 record and a 3-2 ledger at the No. 1 position.

The match was clinched with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 Harris victory on court two. Ranked 87th in the nation, Harris defeated Boston College's Borr to earn her 14th win of the season. The Melbourne, Australia, native maintained control in the first set, never relinquishing the lead after taking a 3-0 advantage. In the second set, the momentum of Harris stalled as she fell behind, 0-4, and dropped the set, 5-7. In the final set, the two competitors sat tied at 4-4 before Harris settled in and won the final two games of the match.

Although the contest was clinched, the matches on courts five and six played out, with Mulholland registering a 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 win over Safron on court five. Smith posted a 6-1, 2-6, 1-0 (10-4) victory over Heini Salonen on court six. Mulholland improved to 14-6 on the year, while Smith, a perfect 3-0 at the No. 6 position this season, is now 9-12.

Freshman Rebecca Smaller fell on court four, 3-6, 4-6, to Dair, the eighth loss of the season for the London native.

The Blue Devils return to action Sunday, traveling to Syracuse to meet the 67th-ranked Orange. The match is scheduled to begin at noon.

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