Four Blue Devils Continue Run, Advance to Round of 16

Monday, May 24

Orlando, Fla.

All-Day

Duke University

Day Two at NCAA Individual Championships

Photo by: USTA

Four Blue Devils Continue Run, Advance to Round of 16

5/24/2021 9:27:00 PM | Women's Tennis

NCAA SINGLES BRACKET NCAA DOUBLES BRACKET

ORLANDO, Fla. – Continuing a strong run of play at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., the Duke women's tennis program extended its season with wins from senior Kelly Chen and redshirt sophomore Georgia Drummy and the doubles team of sophomore Chloe Beck and freshman Karolina Berankova at the NCAA Individual Championship.

With the wins by Chen and Drummy today, both players have secured All-America status, as the top-16 players at the end of season are named to the annual team. Chen has now been named to four All-America teams, while Drummy is All-America for the first time in her collegiate career.

Chen and her opponent No. 8 seeded McCartney Kessler of Florida began their match trading service breaks, as the match started with five straight. Kessler finally held serve, only for Chen to earn two more breaks of serve at the end of the set to win the opener 6-4.

Her run of consecutive games ended at 5-0 when Kessler held serve, but Chen continued to attack her opponent's serve. Chen broke to take a 4-2 lead and even though it continued another run of consecutive service breaks between the two players, with seven, the Cerritos, Calif., native held on, winning the match 6-4, 6-4.

"I thought throughout the match she hit quite a few second serves and I was able to aim for a big target, which helped me construct the points I wanted to have," said Chen. "The more aggressive I was with my returns, the more it worked in my favor."

Chen made more history on Monday as she became just the third Blue Devil in program history to become a four-time All-America honoree. Chen joins Amanda Johnson (2001-04) and Vanessa Webb (1996-99) in the elite club of Blue Devils.

After dropping the opening set of yesterday's match, Drummy left no doubts early in the first set, jumping on her opponent Kari Miller of Michigan with an early service break at 1-1. The first break was just the beginning, as Drummy rolled to a 6-2 first set win. The Dublin, Ireland native kept the momentum going, racing out to a 5-1 lead in the second set. While Miller earned a late break and shaved the deficit to 5-4, Drummy held serve and punched her ticket to the round of 16.

"I wanted to make sure to have a lot of energy and aggression in the opening games today," said Drummy. "I kept wanting to play my game towards the end of the match and to win it, instead of waiting on my opponent to lose it."

The doubles tournament headlined action in the evening, with Beck and Berankova earning a thrilling victory to advance to the round of 16. In a deliberate battle with their opponents from South Carolina, Beck and Bernakova held steady in the first set, saving five break points and winning where it counted, taking the first with a break of serve to make it 6-4. South Carolina's duo of Mia Horvit and Megan Davies had a quick response in the second, securing a service break immediately to make it 1-0 and hung on for a 4-6 win. The two teams headed to a first-to-10 tiebreaker, with Beck/Berankova racing out to a 7-2 advantage. Horvit/Davies answered, shaving the deficit all the way down to 9-8, but Beck/Berankova won the decisive point to take the match.

Margaryta Bilokin and Meible Chi were the other Blue Devils pairing competing on Monday and took the court first. The duo got off to a slow start, as their opponents from Wake Forest earned two service breaks and took the first set 1-6. However, the team came roaring back in the second set, winning the first three games and matching their opponents with a 6-1 second set win. The match advanced to a tiebreaker, where the two teams traded blows. However, Bilokin/Chi dropped four straight points and then could not recover, falling 10-4 in the tiebreaker.

Chen, Drummy and the duo of Beck/Berankova will all be back in action on Tuesday, as Chen opens play at 12 p.m. against Vanderbilt's Christina Rosca. Drummy will play at 1:30 p.m. against Janice Tjen of Oregon and Beck/Berankova will play the nightcap at 6 p.m. against ACC rivals Alana Smith/Anna Rogers of NC State.

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

RESULTS
Singles
Kelly Chen def. McCartney Kessler (Florida) – 6-4, 6-4
Georgia Drummy def. Kari Miller (Michigan) – 6-2, 6-4

Doubles
Carolyn Campana/Eliza Omirou (Wake Forest) def. Margaryta Bilokin/Meible Chi – 6-1, 1-6, 1-0 (4)
No. 5-8 Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova def. Mia Horvit/Megan Davies (South Carolina) – 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (8)

MATCH SCHEDULE – MAY 25
Singles
Round of 16: Kelly Chen vs. Christina Rosca (Vanderbilt) – 12 p.m.
Round of 16: Georgia Drummy vs. Janice Tjen (Oregon) – 1:30 p.m.
Doubles
Round of 16: No. 5-8 Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova vs. Alana Smith/Anna Rogers (NC State) – 6 p.m.

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