SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Blue Devil graduate student
Meible Chi collected her school-record 42nd all-time ACC singles victory Sunday as the 14th-ranked Duke women's tennis team totaled a 4-3 win on the road at Syracuse, which was played at the Drumlins Tennis Center in Syracuse, N.Y.
Duke improves to 13-5 overall and 8-4 in the ACC, while Syracuse drops to 6-10, 5-8.
The Blue Devils were able to secure the doubles point to take a 1-0 advantage early. Duke's 10th-ranked tandem of
Chloe Beck and
Karolina Berankova never trailed en route to a 6-2 win over Polina Kozyreva and Sofya Treshcheva of Syracuse on court two. Beck and Berankova now sport a 12-3 ledger on the year.
In a top-30 matchup on court one, the sixth-ranked Blue Devil duo of Chi and
Margaryta Bilokin notched a 6-2 win over 28th-ranked Natalie Novotna and Viktoriya Kanapatska to improve to 10-3 on the season.
When the doubles point was clinched, Duke's 39th-ranked
Kelly Chen and
Georgia Drummy were leading, 5-4, against Guzal Yusupova and Zeynep Erman on court three.
Duke kept the momentum from the doubles matches as singles followed.
A native of Weston, Fla., 42nd-ranked Chi faced Ines Fonte on court No. 4 and was able to get off the court quickly with a 6-3, 6-0 victory to put the Blue Devils ahead, 2-0. The win gave Chi her 42nd career ACC singles win to move past
Ellyse Hamlin for first on Duke's all-time charts.
Chi improved to 19-3 overall and 11-1 in ACC play on the year.
Duke was able to claim a 3-0 advantage with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court three by 34th-ranked Beck as she notched a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Novotna. Beck, who hails from Watkinsville, Ga., trailed early in the first set, before coming back for her 35th all-time singles win.
Seeing action on court one for the fifth time this season, 77th-ranked Drummy battled back from being down 5-6 in the first set to take it, 7-6, with a 7-5 tiebreaker against 23rd-ranked Kanapatska. Drummy, a product of Dublin, Ireland, registered a 6-1 second set win to put Duke ahead, 4-0, and clinch the ACC victory.
It marked the highest ranked opponent Drummy has defeated in her short Duke career. She is now 14-4 on the season, including a 7-2 mark in ACC play.
Syracuse was able to add three late points as Erman knocked off 117th-ranked Bilokin, 7-5, 6-3, on court No. 5, Kozyreva defeated Berankova, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, on court No. 6 and Yusupova won, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, over No. 27 Chen on court No. 2.
Duke will close the regular season Sunday, April 18 at 1 p.m., as the Blue Devils host Wake Forest at Ambler Tennis Stadium. It will mark senior day for
Ema Lazic,
Hannah Zhao and Chi.
For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke
No. 14 Duke 4, Syracuse 3
Doubles
1. #6
Meible Chi/
Margaryta Bilokin (DU) def. #28 Natalie Novotna/Viktoriya Kanapatska (SY) 6-2
2. #10
Chloe Beck/
Karolina Berankova (DU) def. Polina Kozyreva/Sofya Treshcheva (SY) 6-2
3. #39
Kelly Chen/
Georgia Drummy (DU) vs. Guzal Yusupova/Zeynep Erman (SY) 5-4
Singles
1. #77
Georgia Drummy (DU) def. #23 Viktoriya Kanapatska (SY) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
2. Guzal Yusupova (SY) def. #27
Kelly Chen (DU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
3. #34
Chloe Beck (DU) def. Natalie Novotna (SY) 6-4, 6-3
4. #42
Meible Chi (DU) def. Ines Fonte (SY) 6-3, 6-0
5. Zeynep Erman (SY) def. #117
Margaryta Bilokin (DU) 7-5, 6-3
6. Polina Kozyreva (SY) def.
Karolina Berankova (DU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Finish:
Doubles – 2, 1
Singles – 4, 3, 1, 5, 6, 2