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DWT Looks Back on 2020 Campaign
3/26/2020 12:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DWT Looks Back on 2020 Campaign
DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke women's tennis team saw another strong start to the season, going 11-2 overall and 3-0 in ACC play when spring sports were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
"To have our season end the way it did was one of the toughest ways to end a year that we have ever had," head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "Whether we have won the last point or lost the last point, we have had a sense of closure that this team will never get to have. We feel for this group as they played with a tremendous amount of pride and passion every time they stepped on the court and represented Duke and our Duke women's tennis family with an exceptional amount of class. From day one we never had to coach effort and that is a tribute to our seniors and their leadership. We hurt for what this team will not get to experience and the true memories that each season brings. We commend our leadership here at Duke from President Price to Dr. White and others who had to make this extremely tough but extremely responsible decision. We are lucky to be at a place where the overall health and well-being of the community is priority one and when we have the opportunity to represent Duke again, we will do our part to show what being a Duke Blue Devil truly means."
DUKE IN THE POLLS
The Blue Devils rounded out the 2020 dual match season 10th in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) team poll.
Prior to competition being suspended, Duke was coming off two dominant wins in Durham as it defeated Virginia Tech (6-1) Friday evening (Feb. 28) before a 7-0 rout of William & Mary (March 1). The victory over the Tribe marked the seventh opponent Duke blanked this season.
In addition to the team rankings, Duke featured several in the singles and doubles polls.
Headlining the Blue Devils were junior Kelly Chen at No. 7, followed by freshman Chloe Beck (No. 31), sophomore Margaryta Bilokin (No. 56) and senior Meible Chi (T105).
Chen owned a 7-1 dual match ledger and was perfect in ACC competition (3-0) on Duke's top court while Beck was 10-1 and 2-0 in conference play on courts four (4-0) and five (6-1).
Bilokin spent most of the season on Duke's third court (9-0) and boasted a 10-1 overall record while being undefeated against conference foes (3-0). Chi rounded out the singles poll as the lone undefeated player on Duke's roster with an 11-0 record and 3-0 in ACC. The Weston, Fla., native split time on courts two (4-0), three (1-0) and four (6-0) this season.
Beck/Chi and Beck/Chen represent Duke on the doubles poll checking in at No. 45 and No. 63, respectively. Beck and Chen entered the top 80 for the first time this season in March with an 8-4 overall record while Beck and Chi remain on the list despite seeing no action together this spring.
STRONG HOME PRESENCE
Duke has had a strong tradition of playing well in front of its fans in Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center and in Ambler Tennis Stadium. Since 2017, the Blue Devils own an impressive 46-0 home record that included a 5-0 start to the 2020 campaign.
In 2019, Duke went 14-0 at home after hosting three rounds of the NCAA Tournament and went 14-0 in 2017 and 13-0 in 2018.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOORS
The Blue Devils reached the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the third consecutive year.
No. 5 Duke downed No. 6 Pepperdine (4-1) before going on to defeat No. 3 Georgia (4-2) in the quarterfinals. The Blue Devils fell (4-0) to eventual 2020 champions, No. 2 North Carolina, in the semifinals.
The match versus Georgia was a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Final Four team championship as well as a rematch for Chen. In a rematch of the semifinals of the 2019 NCAA Singles Tournament, No. 10 Chen took down 2019 NCAA runner-up Jokic who she lost to in May. Tabbed No. 41 by the ITA, Jokic was unable to hold off Chen in a three-set thriller. Despite falling 5-7 in the first set, the Cerritos, Calif., native battled back to clinch the match for Duke (5-7, 6-4, 6-2).
Bilokin and Chi were tabbed to the ITA All-Tournament Team following their 2-0 performance in Chicago.
CHEN INCHED TOWARD 100 CAREER SINGLES DUBS
Chen continued to see success on the court during her junior campaign and was just four wins away from reaching the 100-win plateau before play was canceled earlier in March.
The Cerritos, Calif., native racked up 96 career wins in three years that was highlighted by her NCAA Tournament run to the semifinals last spring in singles competition.
For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke | #RiseUp
"To have our season end the way it did was one of the toughest ways to end a year that we have ever had," head coach Jamie Ashworth said. "Whether we have won the last point or lost the last point, we have had a sense of closure that this team will never get to have. We feel for this group as they played with a tremendous amount of pride and passion every time they stepped on the court and represented Duke and our Duke women's tennis family with an exceptional amount of class. From day one we never had to coach effort and that is a tribute to our seniors and their leadership. We hurt for what this team will not get to experience and the true memories that each season brings. We commend our leadership here at Duke from President Price to Dr. White and others who had to make this extremely tough but extremely responsible decision. We are lucky to be at a place where the overall health and well-being of the community is priority one and when we have the opportunity to represent Duke again, we will do our part to show what being a Duke Blue Devil truly means."
DUKE IN THE POLLS
The Blue Devils rounded out the 2020 dual match season 10th in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) team poll.
Prior to competition being suspended, Duke was coming off two dominant wins in Durham as it defeated Virginia Tech (6-1) Friday evening (Feb. 28) before a 7-0 rout of William & Mary (March 1). The victory over the Tribe marked the seventh opponent Duke blanked this season.
In addition to the team rankings, Duke featured several in the singles and doubles polls.
Headlining the Blue Devils were junior Kelly Chen at No. 7, followed by freshman Chloe Beck (No. 31), sophomore Margaryta Bilokin (No. 56) and senior Meible Chi (T105).
Chen owned a 7-1 dual match ledger and was perfect in ACC competition (3-0) on Duke's top court while Beck was 10-1 and 2-0 in conference play on courts four (4-0) and five (6-1).
Bilokin spent most of the season on Duke's third court (9-0) and boasted a 10-1 overall record while being undefeated against conference foes (3-0). Chi rounded out the singles poll as the lone undefeated player on Duke's roster with an 11-0 record and 3-0 in ACC. The Weston, Fla., native split time on courts two (4-0), three (1-0) and four (6-0) this season.
Beck/Chi and Beck/Chen represent Duke on the doubles poll checking in at No. 45 and No. 63, respectively. Beck and Chen entered the top 80 for the first time this season in March with an 8-4 overall record while Beck and Chi remain on the list despite seeing no action together this spring.
STRONG HOME PRESENCE
Duke has had a strong tradition of playing well in front of its fans in Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center and in Ambler Tennis Stadium. Since 2017, the Blue Devils own an impressive 46-0 home record that included a 5-0 start to the 2020 campaign.
In 2019, Duke went 14-0 at home after hosting three rounds of the NCAA Tournament and went 14-0 in 2017 and 13-0 in 2018.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOORS
The Blue Devils reached the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the third consecutive year.
No. 5 Duke downed No. 6 Pepperdine (4-1) before going on to defeat No. 3 Georgia (4-2) in the quarterfinals. The Blue Devils fell (4-0) to eventual 2020 champions, No. 2 North Carolina, in the semifinals.
The match versus Georgia was a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Final Four team championship as well as a rematch for Chen. In a rematch of the semifinals of the 2019 NCAA Singles Tournament, No. 10 Chen took down 2019 NCAA runner-up Jokic who she lost to in May. Tabbed No. 41 by the ITA, Jokic was unable to hold off Chen in a three-set thriller. Despite falling 5-7 in the first set, the Cerritos, Calif., native battled back to clinch the match for Duke (5-7, 6-4, 6-2).
Bilokin and Chi were tabbed to the ITA All-Tournament Team following their 2-0 performance in Chicago.
CHEN INCHED TOWARD 100 CAREER SINGLES DUBS
Chen continued to see success on the court during her junior campaign and was just four wins away from reaching the 100-win plateau before play was canceled earlier in March.
The Cerritos, Calif., native racked up 96 career wins in three years that was highlighted by her NCAA Tournament run to the semifinals last spring in singles competition.
For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke | #RiseUp
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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