Match 25
No. 6 Duke (21-3, 11-3 ACC) vs. No. 73 Maryland (8-10, 3-8 ACC) or No. 70 Wake Forest (11-12, 3-11 ACC)
Thursday, April 24 | 9:00 a.m.
Cary, N.C. | Cary Tennis Park
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DURHAM, N.C. – The 2014 ACC Tournament is slated to begin Wednesday, April 23, with six teams scheduled to compete in the first round. The sixth-ranked Duke women's tennis team concluded ACC regular season play with an 11-3 record, which ranked fifth in the conference. The Blue Devils are set to play either 12th-seeded Maryland or 13th-seeded Wake Forest at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, April 24 at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.
The Duke women's tennis team enters the conference tournament on a two-match losing streak, dropping contests to No. 17 Clemson, 4-3, and No. 27 Georgia Tech, 4-3, over the weekend. Prior to the losses, Duke held an 11-match win streak against conference opponents this season and was ranked No. 1 nationally.
Tournament Championship passes are on sale now and available for purchase either at Cary Tennis Park or via phone by calling (919) 462-2061.
Duke in the ACC Tournament
Duke makes its 29th appearance in the ACC Tournament this week. The Blue Devils have reached the tournament finals 21 times and won 17 ACC titles. At one point, the Blue Devils captured the ACC Championship 15 straight years from 1988 through 2002. Duke last won the title in 2012, following a 4-2 defeat of North Carolina. In Duke's most recent appearance, the Blue Devils fell to Virginia Tech in the first round by a score of 4-3 back in 2013.
Maryland Series History
The Blue Devils lead the series against the Terrapins, 39-8. In the most recent meeting between the two teams, Duke routed Maryland, 7-0, March 28, earning head coach Jamie Ashworth his 400th career win at Duke. Duke at one point owned a 25-match win streak against the Terrapins that started on March 15, 1986 and extended until April 3, 2004. In the 42 meetings between the two programs, Duke has outscored Maryland, 284-37.
Duke and Maryland have met six times in the ACC Tournament, with the Blue Devils owning a 6-0 advantage over the Terrapins. The last time the two teams played one another in the conference tournament was in 2001, when Duke upended Maryland, 5-0.
Scouting the Terrapins
The Terrapins currently own an 8-10 overall ledger and a 3-8 conference mark. Maryland opened the 2014 season with four consecutive wins before dropping three straight matches. The Terrapins enter Wednesday's match against Wake Forest after a 5-2 victory over UMBC.
Maryland's Nataliya Bredikhina returns to the Terrapins with the team's second most singles wins in the 2012-13 season, amassing a 9-12 overall record during her freshman campaign. Bredikhina owns a 10-7 mark this season, and most often plays at the No. 4 position.
In doubles, the sister duo of Nataliya Bredikhina and Olga Bredikhina sit at 8-1 in doubles play this season. The pair once again leads the Terrapins in doubles wins after a 2012-13 season that saw the tandem amass a record of 8-10.
Wake Forest Series History
The Blue Devils lead the series against the Demon Deacons, 56-4. Duke currently owns a seven-match winning streak against Wake Forest, dating back to March 11, 2007. Over the seven-match stretch, the Blue Devils have defeated the Demon Deacons by a 5-1 margin. The Duke vs. Wake Forest series opened with a Blue Devil 22-match win streak, which started in 1976 and ran until April 17, 1988. Earlier in the season, the Blue Devils defeated Wake Forest, 6-1.
Duke has faced Wake Forest 13 times in the ACC Tournament and remains undefeated against the Demon Deacons. The two teams met nine times in the finals of the tournament, including a stretch of six-consecutive championship match meetings.
Scouting the Demon Deacons
The Demon Deacons own an 11-12 overall record and a 3-11 conference mark this season heading into Wednesday's contest against Maryland.
Kasey Gardiner headlines the Demon Deacons in singles play, posting a 22-13 tally. Gardiner most often plays at the No. 5 position, where she has registered a mark of 11-6. Gardiner has teamed with Xue Zhang in doubles play to accumulate a 17-16 record during the 2013-14 season, however the duo is currently on a six-match losing streak. Strong play from the Wake Forest tandem of Samantha Asch and Luisa Fernandez has bolstered the team's doubles play this season, as the duo is 20-7 overall and 13-6 at the No. 2 position.
Team-Win Milestones
With a 6-1 defeat of Miami Sunday, April 6, the Blue Devils earned their 20th win of the season and the 10th conference victory in 2014. Duke has notched 20 or more wins in 14 of the last 18 seasons and double-digit ACC wins for the fourth time in school history.
Duke in ITA Polls
Duke ranks sixth in the ITA's most recent rankings release, marking the first time in five weeks the Blue Devils did not hold the No. 1 spot in the nation. Duke has remained among the nation's top-10 this season, with the team's lowest ranking of 10th coming in the month of January.
Four singles players appear among the nation's top 125, as the Blue Devils are once again headlined by sophomore Beatrice Capra. The Ellicott City, Md., native ranks seventh in the latest polls. Joining Capra on the ITA's latest rankings includes No. 26 Ester Goldfeld, No. 35 Hanna Mar and No. 113 Alyssa Smith.
Five doubles pairs remain among the nation's top 90, with the fifth-ranked duo of Capra and Mar maintaining a top-five ranking. In addition to Capra and Mar, the No. 30 pair of Goldfeld and Smith, No. 43 tandem of Annie Mulholland and Goldfeld, the No. 56 team of Goldfeld and Jodoin and the 89th-ranked twosome of Mulholland and Scholl round out Duke's presence in the rankings.
Double-Digit Win Streak
Ester Goldfeld, who is a 26th-ranked junior out of Brooklyn N.Y., continues to post strong play for the Blue Devils, extending her singles winning streak to 10 matches over the weekend with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Beatrice Gumulya of Clemson. The win improved Goldfeld to 10-1 against conference opponents this season, marking the first time in her career that the Brooklyn, N.Y., native recorded double-digit wins against conference foes. For her career, Goldfeld sits at 19-4 when playing against conference opponents. Goldfeld currently leads the Blue Devils with 27 singles wins this season.
Freshman Contributions
Freshman Alyssa Smith has acclimated herself to the college game seamlessly this season for the Blue Devils, owning an overall singles record of 23-9, including an impressive 9-2 mark in conference play. Smith remains undefeated at both the No. 3 position (4-0) and the No. 6 position (1-0), while also earning a victory over a nationally ranked opponent earlier in the year. Smith became just the seventh Duke freshman to reach nine singles wins in ACC play, joining teammates Rachel Kahan (11) and Beatrice Capra (9).
Smith has been equally successful in doubles play, registering an overall doubles record of 23-5, as well as a near-perfect 9-1 mark against conference tandems. Smith has benefited from the leadership of upperclassmen in doubles play. When paired with senior Marianne Jodoin, the duo compiled an 11-1 record, including a perfect 3-0 ledger in conference play. Similarly, when competing with Ester Goldfeld, the tandem is 9-2 overall and 6-1 in conference play, garnering the 30th ranking in the nation by the ITA for the doubles pair.
Home Sweet Home
The Blue Devils remained undefeated at home this season, posting a perfect 10-0 mark in Durham. During the 10-match stretch, the Blue Devils defeated opponents by a combined score of 62-8. Duke's home winning streak dates back to Jan. 12 when the Blue Devils defeated William & Mary, 6-1.
20-Plus Win Club
The Blue Devils feature five singles players who have reached 20 wins this season, including Beatrice Capra (26-7), Ester Goldfeld (27-7), Marianne Jodoin (25-8), Hanna Mar (25-9) and Alyssa Smith (23-9).
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