Blue Devils Dispatch No. 1 North Carolina on Senior Night

Friday, April 15

Durham, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Dispatch No. 1 North Carolina on Senior Night

4/15/2022 11:17:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Final Box (PDF)

DURHAM – No. 9 Duke women's tennis capped the regular season on a high as the Blue Devils handed top-ranked North Carolina its first loss of the season, dispatching the Tar Heels, 5-2, Friday evening at Ambler Tennis Stadium.

"We talked all week about the opportunity in front of us," said head coach Jamie Ashworth. "I felt like we were playing and competing well, we just had to execute."

Duke (16-3, 11-2 ACC) struck first and grabbed the early advantage after claiming the doubles point behind a pair of victories on the second and third courts. The Blue Devils' 55th-ranked tandem of junior Chloe Beck and freshman Ellie Coleman faced some early adversity in flight two after dropping three of the first four games. The duo never wavered though, rattling off five consecutive games to secure the 6-3 victory over No. 26 Cameron Morra and Alle Sanford.

Over on court three, senior Margaryta Bilokin and graduate student Eliza Omirou built an early 4-1 advantage before going on to defeat Carson Tanguilig and Reilly Tran, 6-3, to give Duke a 1-0 lead.

North Carolina's top-ranked pairing of Fiona Crawley and Elizabeth Scotty collected the lone doubles win for the visitors with a 6-2 victory in the top doubles slot.

"It started with the doubles," said Ashworth. "We came out with tremendous energy. It was a great crowd to play in front of and I think we really fed off the energy and kept it going in the singles. We won five first sets and just battled; even the one we didn't win [the first set], we won the second set. So, I think we had the mindset of 'whatever it takes' – if we have to hit one extra ball, then we were going to do that, and I think that showed tonight."

The Blue Devils kept their foot on the gas as the match moved into singles play. Beck doubled the Duke lead as she bested fourth-ranked Morra in flight one, taking each set in completely different fashions. The seventh-ranked junior controlled the opening set from start to finish and breezed to a 6-1 decision, while set two was a back-and-forth affair that saw Beck grind out six of 10 games to secure the win in straight sets.

Coleman extended the advantage to 3-0 after outlasting Anika Yarlagadda on court six. The rookie defeated her opponent in a pair of back-and-forth sets (7-5,6-4), moving the Blue Devils one step closer to the momentous win.

North Carolina (23-1, 12-1 ACC) was able to cut its deficit to two via No. 48 Carson Tanguilig's three-set triumph (4-6,6-1,6-1) in the fifth spot. That would have no effect on the Blue Devils, as senior Kelly Chen rose to the occasion and delivered the final blow to the Tar Heels.

Taking on No. 45 Crawley in a hard-fought battle in flight four, Chen delivered a clutch performance to clinch the match for Duke. Chen faced an early 4-0 hole, but the battle-tested senior didn't panic – storming back with six unanswered to claim the first set 6-4. In set two, Chen and Crawley were locked in another tight battle as they were tied 2-2 after four games. With the win within reach Chen wouldn't be denied, taking four of the next five games to lock down the result and push Duke's ledger to 4-1.

"I was a bit nervous coming in, playing UNC – last match of the regular season [and] senior day – but I'm excited that we got this win," said Chen. "We had nothing to lose out there and we played really well. We fought hard, and I'm just proud in general."

Duke and North Carolina split the remaining two courts as the match played out. A win by retirement on court three gave the Tar Heels their second point of the evening, while No. 21 Drummy put the finishing touches on the victory with her takedown of 17th-ranked Scotty at number two.

Up Next
Duke will turn its attention to the postseason, with the ACC Women's Tennis Championships slated for April 20-24 in Rome, Ga.

RESULTS
Singles (1,6,5,4*,2)
1. #9 Chloe Beck (DU) def. #4 Cameron Morra (NC) 6-1, 6-4
2. #21 Georgia Drummy (DU) def. #17 Elizabeth Scotty (NC) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
3. #24 Reilly Tran (NC) def. #122 Emma Jackson (DU) 6-2, 3-6, 5-1, retired
4. Kelly Chen (DU) def. #45 Fiona Crawley (NC) 6-4, 6-3
5. #48 Carson Tanguilig (NC) def. Margaryta Bilokin (DU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. Ellie Coleman (DU) def. Anika Yarlagadda (NC) 7-5, 6-4

Doubles (1,2,3)
1. #1 Fiona Crawley/Elizabeth Scotty (NC) def. #38 Karolina Berankova/Georgia Drummy (DU) 6-2
2. #55 Chloe Beck/Ellie Coleman (DU) def. #26 Cameron Morra/Alle Sanford (NC) 6-3
3. Eliza Omirou/Margaryta Bilokin (DU) def. Carson Tanguilig/Reilly Tran (NC) 6-3

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

#GoDuke