WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

WTEN: Blue Devils cruise past Baylor at ITA Indoors

Feb 8, 2013

Charlottesville, Va. — Blue Devils Ester Goldfeld and Mary Clayton led the third-ranked Duke women’s tennis team as it downed No. 15 Baylor, 4-1, on Friday in the first round of the ITA National Indoor Championship hosted by the University of Virginia at the Boar’s Head Sports Club. With the win, the Blue Devils advance to play No. 14 Northwestern in the quarterfinals of the tournament Saturday at 12 p.m.

In doubles action, junior Marianne Jodoin and sophomore Annie Mulholland broke serve twice to open their match against Alex Leatu and Victoria Kisialeva, before cruising to an 8-4 victory in the No. 2 position. On court one, senior Mary Clayton and sophomore Ester Goldfeld dropped serve twice and found themselves at a 4-1 deficit against Emma Burgic and Kiah Generette. Despite the slow start, the Blue Devil tandem battled back, winning seven consecutive games to claim the match, 8-4, and clinch the doubles point for Duke. Sophomore Monica Turewicz and junior Hanna Mar held a 6-5 edge over Megan Horter and Jordaan Sanford when Goldfeld and Clayton clinched the point.

“I think [Mary Clayton and Ester Goldfeld] got off to a little bit of a slow start emotionally, but did a great job of coming back,” said head coach Jamie Ashworth. “They really cleaned up their game after being down 4-1, and stopped giving away free points. They played with a lot of emotion, and it was really great to see.”

With the wins, the Blue Devils have now clinched the doubles point in five consecutive matches and now own a perfect 11-0 tally in doubles play this season.

Clayton and Goldfeld carried the momentum from their doubles match, and both jumped out to early 3-0 leads in the singles matches in the second and third positions respectively. Goldfeld, ranked No. 40 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) polls, continued her solid play to roll, 6-1, 6-1, over Sanford, while No. 53 Clayton dispatched Horter, 6-2, 6-2, to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.

On court one, 10th-ranked Mar dropped the first set, 6-1, to No. 16 Burgic, and found herself down 4-1 in the second before mounting a comeback to bring the set back to even at 4-4. Mar provided an emotional lift to the Blue Devils by battling her way back into the match, but dropped a hard-fought match to Burgic, 6-1, 6-4.

In the sixth position, Jodoin outlasted Leatu, 6-4, in the first set, before breaking serve to jump out to a 3-1 lead in the second set. After withstanding a brief comeback from Leatu, Jodoin was able to win the next two games to clinch the match for Duke with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. When the match was clinched, Mulholland held a 7-5, 3-0 edge over Kisialeva and Turewciz tallied a 7-5, 3-3 lead over Generette.

The Blue Devils take to the court again Saturday at 12 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship against No. 14 Northwestern. The match with the Wildcats will be a rematch of a Feb. 3 meeting between the two teams in which the No. 3 Blue Devils swept Northwestern, 4-0, in Evanston, Ill.

“It is never easy playing a good team like that twice in one week,” Ashworth said. “But we have already talked about not overlooking anyone that we play. To be successful tomorrow, we really need to clean up our service game. I think we are giving away some easy points, and we have got to do a better job of that. We need to play to our strengths and not worry about our opponent. When we play to our strengths, we are as good as anyone in the country.”

Baylor vs. Duke
Feb 08, 2013 at Charlottesville, VA
(Boar's Head Sports Club)

Duke 4, Baylor 1

Singles Competition
1. #16 Emma Burgic (BU) def. #10 Hanna Mar (DUKE) 6-1, 6-4
2. #53 Mary Clayton (DUKE) def. Megan Horter (BU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #40 Ester Goldfeld (DUKE) def. Jordaan Sanford (BU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Annie Mulholland (DUKE) vs. Victoria Kisialeva (BU) 7-5, 3-0, unfinished
5. Monica Turewicz (DUKE) vs. Kiah Generette (BU) 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
6. #63 Marianne Jodoin (DUKE) def. Alex Leatu (BU) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles Competition
1. Mary Clayton/Ester Goldfeld (DUKE) def. Emma Burgic/Kiah Generette (BU) 8-4
2. Marianne Jodoin/Annie Mulholland (DUKE) def. Alex Leatu/Victoria Kisialeva (BU) 8-4
3. Monica Turewicz/Hanna Mar (DUKE) def. Megan Horter/Jordaan Sanford (BU) 6-5

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,2,1,6)