No. 6 Duke Rallies to Defeat No. 24 Syracuse, 6-1

Friday, March 4

Durham, N.C.

3:00 PM

Duke University

Syracuse

No. 6 Duke Rallies to Defeat No. 24 Syracuse, 6-1

3/4/2016 7:30:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score: Duke 6, Syracuse 1

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 6 Duke women's tennis team fell behind early, dropping the doubles point for the first time in five matches, but rallied in singles to defeat No. 24 Syracuse, 6-1, at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham, N.C., Friday. The victory improved Duke to 10-1 (3-0) on the season, while the Orange fell to 8-2 (2-2).

“I don't think we played with very much energy [in doubles],” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I think we were flat with our energy. We've done a nice job of being energetic and being excited to play doubles. We were really too passive, and that's not how we have played doubles the last month. [At the intermission] I told them they had to trust each other and trust that your teammate is going to work just as hard as you are and that your teammate is going to run down balls and finish points. You have to trust yourself, but also trust your teammates.”

Duke found itself in unfamiliar territory after Syracuse secured the doubles point by winning two of the three doubles matches.

The Duke pair of sophomore Samantha Harris and freshman Jessica Ho, competing together for the first time, posted its first win of the year after defeating Nicole Mitchell and Maria Tritou, 6-2. After falling behind 1-0, Harris and Ho won three straight to take a 3-1 lead. Although Mitchell and Tritou took a game, bringing the score to 3-2, the Duke tandem put together another three-game run that led the Blue Devils off the doubles courts. Duke has excelled at the No. 3 position in doubles this season, posting a near-perfect 10-1 record in dual match play.

On court two, the four-match win streak of juniors Alyssa Smith and Chalena Scholl came to an end after falling to Syracuse's pair of Dina Hegab and Anna Shkudun, 6-3. Smith and Scholl led early in the contest, taking a 3-1 advantage, but a swing in momentum led to Hegab and Shkudun winning five straight games to hand the Duke tandem its third loss of the year. Scholl and Smith remain one win away from reaching the double-digit mark for victories this year, owning a record of 9-3.

With matches on courts two and three split, the doubles point was decided on court one between Duke's 17th-ranked duo of senior Beatrice Capra and freshman Ellyse Hamlin and Syracuse's Valeria Salazar and Gabriela Knutson. After Capra and Hamlin took a 2-1 lead, Salazar and Knutson came storming back to earn a 5-2 advantage and pull within a game of taking the doubles point. Not to be outdone, Capra and Hamlin put together a three-game run of their own to tie the match at 5-5. The Blue Devil pair was unable to close out the contest, however, as Salazar and Knutson won the final two games to secure the doubles point for Syracuse and drop Capra and Hamlin's record to 13-7 on the year.

Singles proved the deciding factor in the contest, as the Blue Devils won on all six courts to defeat the Orange.

Scholl continued her tear in singles action, earning a convincing 6-0, 6-1, victory over No. 42 Shkudun. Less than five days after earning the first ACC Player of the Week honor of her career, Scholl cruised to a straight-set victory while dropping just one game throughout the entire competition. Six of Scholl's eight dual match victories this season have come in straight sets.

Harris helped pull Duke into the lead with a 6-2, 6-2 win on court two, as she defeated the 124th-ranked Salazar. Harris never trailed in either of the sets, taking a 2-1 lead that she extended to 4-1. After dropping a second game, Harris successfully won back-to-back games to secure the set. Harris performed equally well in the second set, taking a commanding 5-0 lead. Although Salazar would win two straight games, a Harris hold earned the Melbourne, Australia, native her 10th win of the year and her third over a ranked opponent.

“The energy was a lot higher in singles,” Harris said. “Everyone was out there cheering and yelling, and then we got a few quick matches, with Chalena quick off the court, which helped us regain the momentum. We got a lot of first sets, which also helped, and one-by-one everyone trusted each other, and we each got off the court pretty cleanly with six wins.”

The Blue Devils extended their lead following Smith's 6-2, 6-3 win over Hegab on court six. Smith, competing in her first conference match of the season, showed no signs of nerves as she stormed out to a 4-1 lead. The two competitors traded games, bringing the score to 5-2, before Smith wrapped up the first set. In the second set, Smith fought back from adversity and an early 3-1 lead, winning the final five games of the match to post the victory. Smith improved to 7-5 on the year and 1-0 when competing on court six.

Hamlin ultimately put the match out of reach of the Orange after downing No. 115 Knutson, 7-6 (7-0), 6-4 on court three. Hamlin and Knutson were in a tightly contested match in the first set, with neither gaining more than a one-game advantage over the other, which led to a first-set tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Hamlin asserted herself and won seven straight points to take the first set, 7-6. Knutson jumped out on Hamlin, 2-0 in the second set, before the Fairfield, Conn., native tied the set at 2-2. Knutson once again took the lead, bringing the score to 3-2, before Hamlin won four of the next five games to win the set and the match for the Blue Devils.

“Getting points on the board always helps, especially after losing a doubles point,” Hamlin said. “I've been playing next to Chalena a lot lately, and she is definitely a big source of energy. Getting that first point is crucial, so both [Samantha and Chalena] finishing is definitely a big aspect of why we compete so well. I need to keep being aggressive and focus on every single point.”

Although the match was decided, contests on courts four and five were played out. Ho picked up her 11th singles victory of the year after defeating No. 115 Knutson, 7-6 (7-0), 6-4. The win over Knutson marked Ho's first against a nationally ranked opponent. Redshirt freshman Christina Makarova also concluded her match with Libi Mesh on court five, with Makarova posting a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Duke resumes competition Sunday, hitting the road for a matchup with No. 39 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. The contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.

#GoDuke

Singles competition
1. Chalena Scholl (DU) def. #42 Anna Shkudun (SU) 6-0, 6-1
2. Samantha Harris (DU) def. #124 Valeria Salazar (SU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #59 Ellyse Hamlin (DU) def. #115 Gabriela Knutson (SU) 7-6 (7-0), 6-4
4. Jessica Ho (DU) def. Maria Tritou (SU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Christina Makarova (DU) def. Libi Mesh (SU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Alyssa Smith (DU) def. Dina Hegab (SU) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Valeria Salazar/Gabriela Knutson (SU) def. #17 Beatrice Capra/Ellyse Hamlin (DU) 7-5
2. Dina Hegab/Anna Shkudun (SU) def. Alyssa Smith/Chalena Scholl (DU) 6-3
3. Samantha Harris/Jessica Ho (DU) def. Nicole Mitchell/Maria Tritou (SU) 6-2