Chen, Drummy Advance to Round of 32 at NCAA Individual Championship

Sunday, May 23

Orlando, Fla.

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Day One at NCAA Individual Championships

Photo by: USTA

Chen, Drummy Advance to Round of 32 at NCAA Individual Championship

5/23/2021 8:50:00 PM | Women's Tennis

NCAA SINGLES BRACKET NCAA DOUBLES BRACKET

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Duke women's tennis program opened the 2021 NCAA Individual Championship in style, as senior Kelly Chen and redshirt sophomore Georgia Drummy advanced to the round of 32 in the singles competition.

Sophomore Chloe Beck also competed on Sunday, making her NCAA Individual Championship debut, but fell in her matchup.

While the result proved to be strong for the Blue Devils, the three competitors on court today struggled out of the gate, with each dropping the first set. Drummy was the first of three to compete today and was able to ward off an extension of the lead in the second set after dropping the first set 4-6, saving seven break points in the second set to turn the tide. The Dublin, Ireland native was able to manufacture momentum, taking the second set 6-4 to force a decisive third set.

In the third set, Drummy picked up right where she left off, securing two service breaks to build a 4-0 lead. While her No. 29 ranked opponent Sabina Machalova of Ole Miss was able to hold serve, it would not stop Drummy's momentum, as she secured another service break on the final game to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

"It was a great first experience of playing in the individual championship here," said Drummy. "I had a rough start, but I worked my way into the match. It was a great feeling getting my first win under my belt and I'm very excited to play again tomorrow!"

Like Drummy, Chen faced an early deficit, dropping the opening set 2-6. The Cerritos, Calif., native was in more trouble after falling behind with an early service break by UCLA's Jada Hart to make it 0-2. However, Chen continued her strong run of play when facing a deficit, breaking back immediately as both sides held on to force a tiebreaker at 6-6. Chen dominated from the start, winning the first six points, and taking the tiebreaker 7-1 to even the sets at 1-1.

Once again, Chen faced a deficit, as Hart responded to earn two service breaks and two service holds to make it 0-4. However, the senior was prepared and responded with a huge run of her own, taking the next five games to take a 5-4 lead. Hart held serve to tie the third set at 5-5, but Chen answered by holding serve and delivering a service break on the first match point, winning 2-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5.

"I've been in this position before, and I knew that I was able to grind it out and fight for every point out there," said Chen. "Even when I was down 0-4, Jamie [Ashworth] still had confidence in me. Without him, [Michelle] Dasso and the staff here, I wouldn't have finished it out with a win."

With the wins by Chen and Drummy, the Blue Devils have now advanced at least one singles player into the round of 32 for five consecutive seasons and 10 of the last 13 championships. Chen also becomes the first Blue Devil to reach the round of 32 at least three times since Vanessa Webb did it four times from 1996-1999.

Beck competed in an exciting NCAA Individual Championship debut, but fell 3-6, 6-7 (5). Her No. 7 seeded opponent Abigail Forbes of UCLA was able to get out in front with a break of serve at 3-3 and held on to take the first. Beck and Forbes traded impressive service returns in the second set, with four of the first five games resulting in breaks of serve. After Forbes held serve to take a 6-5 lead, Beck bounced back to tie the match at 6-6, before falling in a tiebreaker.

Chen and Drummy will be back in action tomorrow in the round of 32, while Beck will be back in action in the doubles tournament with partner Karolina Berankova, as well as Margaryta Bilokin and Meible Chi.

For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".

RESULTS
Georgia Drummy (Duke) def. Sabina Machalova (Ole Miss) – 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Kelly Chen (Duke) def. Jada Hart (UCLA) – 2-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5
No. 7 Abigail Forbes (UCLA) def. Chloe Beck (Duke) – 6-3, 7-6 (5)

MATCH SCHEDULE – May 24
Singles
Round of 32: Georgia Drummy vs. Kari Miller (Michigan) – 12:30 p.m.
Round of 32: Kelly Chen vs. No. 8 McCartney Kessler (Florida) – 10 a.m.
Doubles
Round of 64: No. 5-8 Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova vs. Mia Horvit/Megan Davies (South Carolina) – 5 p.m.
Round of 64: Margaryta Bilokin/Meible Chi vs. Carolyn Campana/Eliza Omirou (Wake Forest) – 3:30 p.m.

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