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Women's Tennis
vs ITA All-American Championship
Wednesday, February 17
Durham, N.C.
2:00 PM
Duke University
7
vs
0
VCU
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Chen Nets Win 100 as No. 11 Duke Defeats VCU, 7-0
2/17/2021 6:15:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University women's tennis senior Kelly Chen became the 26th Blue Devil to reach the 100-win club Wednesday afternoon as No. 11 Duke defeated VCU, 7-0, to close non-conference play at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.
The Blue Devils improved to 5-1 on the season and won their ACC-best 50th straight home match, while the Rams fell to 2-4 on the year.
"It is a performance we needed heading into ACC play this weekend," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth. "I have said it a couple of times, the conference is the toughest in the country. There are no easy days and no easy matches so to get a clean match and get off the courts fairly quickly was really good for us heading into the match in Charlottesville on Friday."
Duke got off to a good start by winning the doubles point for the 10th consecutive contest to take a 1-0 advantage.
The Blue Devil duo of Kelly Chen and Georgia Drummy won their sixth straight match with a 6-1 victory over Alessia Beatrice Ciuca and Shivani Manjanna on court three. The Duke duo now owns a 7-2 record on the season, including a 6-0 mark in dual action.
On court two, the Duke tandem of Chloe Beck and Karolina Berankova took a 2-1 lead, but dropped the next three games to fall behind, 3-4. The Blue Devils came back strong by winning the next four games to clinch the doubles point with a 6-4 win over Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado and Noumea Witmus. Beck and Berankova won their seventh consecutive match to improve to 8-1 on the year.
The match on court one between Meible Chi and Margaryta Bilokin of Duke and Gabriela Ana-Maria Davidescu/Luminita Tutunaru of VCU was abandoned after the Blue Devils clinched the doubles point.
The Blue Devils would go ahead, 2-0, as 28th-ranked Drummy registered a 6-1, 6-2 win over Tutunaru on court two. A product of Dublin, Ireland, Drummy moved to 7-2 on the season and 5-1 in dual match play.
Seeing action in her eighth match as a Blue Devil, 95th-ranked Berankova turned in an impressive win, 6-0, 6-1, over Lara Van der Merwe on court six to give Duke a 3-0 advantage.
The match was clinched on court three as 29th-ranked Beck never trailed winning in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, to improve to 7-2 in singles play.
Chi, a graduate student from Weston, Fla., was tied with Witmus on court four, 4-4, in the first set, but cruised the rest of the way winning eight of the final nine games to win, 6-4, 6-1. She improved to 8-2 on the season and notched her 120th career singles win.
"She has been a rock in our program for the last two and a half/three years and will continue to be that way," said Ashworth. "We have leaned on her for a lot of big points in big matches and she has handled it really well. One of the best things about Kelly is she plays her best when her best is needed, whether it that is the NCAA Tournament, ACC or National Team Indoors or something like that. She has handled those moments really well. She is rounding into form now. She won her 100th today. It has been on her mind since January. She has been a great leader for us. Getting those wins where she has in our lineup says a lot about her. You can win a 100 wins and then you can win 100 playing high at No. 1 and No. 2. It is a great accomplishment for her."
Needing one victory to reach 100 over her four-year career with the Blue Devils, Chen took on 116th-ranked Diaz-Delgado on court No. 1. Chen, who hails from Cerritos, Calif., went ahead 4-1 early in the match and concluded with a 6-3 win in the first set. After falling in the first game of the second set, Chen rebounded to win the second, 6-4, and became the 26th Blue Devil to reach the 100-win mark. She now owns a record of 100-26 at Duke and she collected her 41st victory against a ranked opponent.
"It means a lot," said Chen on reaching 100 wins. "It means I put in all the work I needed to. Obviously, there is more work to do in my future matches. I am just really happy that I got my 100th win."
Bilokin, a junior from New Canaan, Conn., had a tough battle on court five with Manjanna. After dropping the first set, 3-6, Bilokin came back to win the second, 6-4, even though she fell behind 2-3 early. In the tiebreaker, Bilokin battled back from being down 3-6 and faced one match point at 8-9, but responded by winning three straight points to capture the win, 11-9. She moved to 8-2 on the season with the victory.
Duke will head to the state of Virginia this weekend to open ACC action as the Blue Devils play at 14th-ranked Virginia Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m., and then take on Virginia Tech Sunday, Feb. 21 at 12 p.m., in Blacksburg, Va.
"The credit goes to the coaching staff that we have here that is understanding and knows what we need to work on," added Chen. "I would also recognize Alex Merrill and Tara Moore who have been two the best people here at Duke. Without them, I wouldn't have won so many matches as they keep me healthy. They deserve as much credit as much as anyone that works with Duke women's tennis."
For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke
#11 Duke 7, VCU 0
Doubles
1. Meible Chi/Margaryta Bilokin (Duke) vs. Gabriela Ana-Maria Davidescu/Luminita Tutunaru (VCU) 4-5 (unfinished)
2. Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova (Duke) def. Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado/Noumea Witmus (VCU) 6-4
3. Kelly Chen/Georgia Drummy (Duke) def. Alessia Beatrice Ciuca/Shivani Manjanna (VCU) 6-1
Singles
1. #8 Kelly Chen (Duke) def. #116 Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado (VCU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #28 Georgia Drummy (Duke) def. Luminita Tutunaru (VCU) 6-1, 6-2
3. #29 Chloe Beck (Duke) def. Alessia Beatrice Ciuca (VCU) 6-1, 6-1
4. #111 Meible Chi (Duke) def. Noumea Witmus (VCU) 6-4, 6-1
5. #44 Margaryta Bilokin (Duke) def. Shivani Manjanna (VCU) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (9)
6. #95 Karolina Berankova (Duke) def. Lara Van der Merwe (VCU) 6-0, 6-1
Finish:
Doubles – 3, 2
Singles – 2, 6, 3, 4, 1, 6
The Blue Devils improved to 5-1 on the season and won their ACC-best 50th straight home match, while the Rams fell to 2-4 on the year.
"It is a performance we needed heading into ACC play this weekend," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth. "I have said it a couple of times, the conference is the toughest in the country. There are no easy days and no easy matches so to get a clean match and get off the courts fairly quickly was really good for us heading into the match in Charlottesville on Friday."
Duke got off to a good start by winning the doubles point for the 10th consecutive contest to take a 1-0 advantage.
The Blue Devil duo of Kelly Chen and Georgia Drummy won their sixth straight match with a 6-1 victory over Alessia Beatrice Ciuca and Shivani Manjanna on court three. The Duke duo now owns a 7-2 record on the season, including a 6-0 mark in dual action.
On court two, the Duke tandem of Chloe Beck and Karolina Berankova took a 2-1 lead, but dropped the next three games to fall behind, 3-4. The Blue Devils came back strong by winning the next four games to clinch the doubles point with a 6-4 win over Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado and Noumea Witmus. Beck and Berankova won their seventh consecutive match to improve to 8-1 on the year.
The match on court one between Meible Chi and Margaryta Bilokin of Duke and Gabriela Ana-Maria Davidescu/Luminita Tutunaru of VCU was abandoned after the Blue Devils clinched the doubles point.
The Blue Devils would go ahead, 2-0, as 28th-ranked Drummy registered a 6-1, 6-2 win over Tutunaru on court two. A product of Dublin, Ireland, Drummy moved to 7-2 on the season and 5-1 in dual match play.
Seeing action in her eighth match as a Blue Devil, 95th-ranked Berankova turned in an impressive win, 6-0, 6-1, over Lara Van der Merwe on court six to give Duke a 3-0 advantage.
The match was clinched on court three as 29th-ranked Beck never trailed winning in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, to improve to 7-2 in singles play.
Chi, a graduate student from Weston, Fla., was tied with Witmus on court four, 4-4, in the first set, but cruised the rest of the way winning eight of the final nine games to win, 6-4, 6-1. She improved to 8-2 on the season and notched her 120th career singles win.
"She has been a rock in our program for the last two and a half/three years and will continue to be that way," said Ashworth. "We have leaned on her for a lot of big points in big matches and she has handled it really well. One of the best things about Kelly is she plays her best when her best is needed, whether it that is the NCAA Tournament, ACC or National Team Indoors or something like that. She has handled those moments really well. She is rounding into form now. She won her 100th today. It has been on her mind since January. She has been a great leader for us. Getting those wins where she has in our lineup says a lot about her. You can win a 100 wins and then you can win 100 playing high at No. 1 and No. 2. It is a great accomplishment for her."
Needing one victory to reach 100 over her four-year career with the Blue Devils, Chen took on 116th-ranked Diaz-Delgado on court No. 1. Chen, who hails from Cerritos, Calif., went ahead 4-1 early in the match and concluded with a 6-3 win in the first set. After falling in the first game of the second set, Chen rebounded to win the second, 6-4, and became the 26th Blue Devil to reach the 100-win mark. She now owns a record of 100-26 at Duke and she collected her 41st victory against a ranked opponent.
"It means a lot," said Chen on reaching 100 wins. "It means I put in all the work I needed to. Obviously, there is more work to do in my future matches. I am just really happy that I got my 100th win."
Bilokin, a junior from New Canaan, Conn., had a tough battle on court five with Manjanna. After dropping the first set, 3-6, Bilokin came back to win the second, 6-4, even though she fell behind 2-3 early. In the tiebreaker, Bilokin battled back from being down 3-6 and faced one match point at 8-9, but responded by winning three straight points to capture the win, 11-9. She moved to 8-2 on the season with the victory.
Duke will head to the state of Virginia this weekend to open ACC action as the Blue Devils play at 14th-ranked Virginia Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m., and then take on Virginia Tech Sunday, Feb. 21 at 12 p.m., in Blacksburg, Va.
"The credit goes to the coaching staff that we have here that is understanding and knows what we need to work on," added Chen. "I would also recognize Alex Merrill and Tara Moore who have been two the best people here at Duke. Without them, I wouldn't have won so many matches as they keep me healthy. They deserve as much credit as much as anyone that works with Duke women's tennis."
For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke
#11 Duke 7, VCU 0
Doubles
1. Meible Chi/Margaryta Bilokin (Duke) vs. Gabriela Ana-Maria Davidescu/Luminita Tutunaru (VCU) 4-5 (unfinished)
2. Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova (Duke) def. Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado/Noumea Witmus (VCU) 6-4
3. Kelly Chen/Georgia Drummy (Duke) def. Alessia Beatrice Ciuca/Shivani Manjanna (VCU) 6-1
Singles
1. #8 Kelly Chen (Duke) def. #116 Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado (VCU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #28 Georgia Drummy (Duke) def. Luminita Tutunaru (VCU) 6-1, 6-2
3. #29 Chloe Beck (Duke) def. Alessia Beatrice Ciuca (VCU) 6-1, 6-1
4. #111 Meible Chi (Duke) def. Noumea Witmus (VCU) 6-4, 6-1
5. #44 Margaryta Bilokin (Duke) def. Shivani Manjanna (VCU) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (9)
6. #95 Karolina Berankova (Duke) def. Lara Van der Merwe (VCU) 6-0, 6-1
Finish:
Doubles – 3, 2
Singles – 2, 6, 3, 4, 1, 6
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Paolo Diaz Delgado / 0 (116/-) [VCU]
34
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Luminita Tutunaru / 0 [VCU]
12
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Alessia Ciuca / 0 [VCU]
11
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Noumea Witmus / 0 [VCU]
41
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Shivani Manjanna / 0 [VCU]
640
361
#6 Singles Match
12
Lara Van der Merwe / 0 [VCU]
01
66
Order of Finish:
2,6,3,4,1,5
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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