Duke Earns NCAA Tournament First Round Victory Over Alabama

Friday, May 7

Waco, Texas

3:00 PM

Duke University

Alabama (NCAA First Round)

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Earns NCAA Tournament First Round Victory Over Alabama

5/7/2021 8:02:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Ashworth Interview

WACO, Texas – The Duke women's tennis program started off the NCAA Tournament on the right foot, as the Blue Devils earned a first round victory against Alabama, defeating the Crimson Tide 4-0 on Friday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

The win for Duke (16-6) secures another second round appearance for head coach Jamie Ashworth, who has led the Blue Devils to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament in every year he's been in the top position.

"Having two weeks off is a weird feeling, because you're used to playing every week in the spring," said Ashworth. "I thought we were a little hesitant in the start, in the warmup and that kind of stuff, but once we started hitting and swinging and playing, I think it came right back to us."

It proved to be a quick start for the Blue Devils as competition began, with the No. 41 duo of senior Kelly Chen and redshirt sophomore Georgia Drummy jumping out to an early lead. The pair earned a match-opening break and didn't look back, building a commanding 4-0 lead. While Alabama's pair of Loudmilla Bencheikh/Sydney Orefice was able to get on the board late, Chen/Drummy secured their third break of the match to win 6-1.

Another fast start came from the No. 9 team of sophomore Chloe Beck and freshman Karolina Berankova. While the match against the Crimson Tide's Alba Cortina Pou/Anna Parkhomenko started with three straight service breaks, the Blue Devil duo buckled down, holding serve to make it 3-1, then securing two more games to hold a 5-1 advantage. Pou/Parkhomenko proved to be a gritty team, saving five match points and securing one break to make it 5-3, but Beck/Berankova would not be denied, taking their match, 6-3, and giving the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.

On court one, the No. 10 duo of Margaryta Bilokin/Meible Chi were in the process of completing a strong comeback. After falling down 1-4 early and giving up two breaks of serve, the duo got on a roll, erasing the lead at 4-4. After two service holds, the match would be unfinished, with the score tied, 5-5.

The depth of the Blue Devil lineup showed from the beginning in singles, as four of six players opened their respective matches with service breaks. Berankova led the early blitz by the Blue Devils, taking the first set, 6-0, and not dropping a game until losing a break at 3-0 in the second set. Despite a late service hold, the Prague, Czech Republic native secured the first singles point of the day, cruising to a 6-0, 6-2 victory.

Much like Berankova, Chi raced out to an early lead and took the first set, 6-1. The Weston, Fla., native faced some adversity in the second set, when she took a 4-1 lead, but dropped a break to get the score back to 4-3 and on serve. However, Chi weathered the storm, breaking right back to take a 5-3 lead and would hang on to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 advantage, winning 6-1, 6-3. With the win, Chi recorded the 134th victory of her collegiate career, moving her just one behind Julie Exum for a tie for fourth on the all-time list.

Beck, Bilokin and Drummy all opened their matches with first set victories, but it was Drummy who secured the clinching point. The redshirt sophomore from Dublin, Ireland turned in an impressive showing, winning every service opportunity and limiting her opponent to just four games in a 6-2, 6-2 victory. It continues a strong run of play from Drummy, who has now won seven of her last eight singles matches.

While unfinished, Bilokin was also out to a sensational start, holding a 6-1, 4-2 lead at the stoppage of play. Bilokin was riding another momentum wave, having resecured a service break at 2-1 in the second set and bouncing back immediately from a break from Alabama's Sydney Riley. Beck held an early advantage after taking the first set, 6-3, but trailed, 1-4 in the second, while Chen had just broken back then held serve to tie second set at 3-3 after a first set loss.

The Blue Devils will be back action on Saturday, May 8, facing No. 8 Baylor (23-4, 8-1 Big 12) in the second round at 6 p.m. ET. The Blue Devils are hoping to return to the Round of 16 for the 20th time in Ashworth's tenure.

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

No. 18 Duke 4, No. 43 Alabama 0
Doubles
1. No. 10 Margaryta Bilokin/Meible Chi (DU) vs. Anne Marie Hiser/Sydney Riley (UA) – 5-5, unfinished
2. No. 9 Chloe Beck/Karolina Berankova (DU) def. Alba Cortina Pou/Anna Parkhomenko (UA) – 6-3
3. No. 41 Kelly Chen/Georgia Drummy (DU) def. Loudmilla Bencheikh/Sydney Orefice (UA) – 6-1

Singles
1.   No. 49 Kelly Chen (DU) vs. Loudmilla Bencheikh (UA) – 3-6, 3-3, unfinished
2.   No. 19 Georgia Drummy (DU) def. Alba Cortina Pou (UA) – 6-2, 6-2
3.   No. 39 Chloe Beck (DU) vs. Anna Parkhomenko (UA) – 6-3, 1-4, unfinished
4.   No. 40 Meible Chi (DU) def. Anne Marie Hiser (UA) – 6-1, 6-3
5.   Margaryta Bilokin (DU) vs. Sydney Riley (UA) – 6-1, 4-2, unfinished
6. Karolina Berankova (DU) def. Sydney Orefice (UA) – 6-0, 6-2

Finish:
Doubles – 3, 2
Singles – 6, 4, 2

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