It took the top-ranked ACC women’s tennis team and No. 3 team in the nation to take down the Wolfpack in the ACC Tournament on Friday. After skunking Boston College 4-0 in the first round of the tournament at Cary Tennis Park, the Pack came back on Friday at Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center and was barely defeated by the Blue Devils, falling 4-3. Senior Sanaa Bhambri attributed the loss to Duke to their extremely strong bottom lineup.
“The fact that we came so close to winning against the No.3 team in the country is a good sign,” Bhambri said. “Duke had a very strong bottom lineup at 4, 5 and 6. It was slightly disappointing. I guess with every team there are certain spots that are weak and strong and for their bottom lineup they are very strong. It is something we could work on.”
After Thursday’s lopsided victory over Boston College, the team then took its momentum into Friday’s matches, giving the Blue Devils a run for their money. Lenka Hojckova and Tatiana Illova put up the first win of the day, taking down Duke’s No. 51-ranked doubles team in eight straight sets. Nagaraj and Bhambri shortly followed, defeating the No. 50-ranked team, 8-5, and clinching the doubles point for the match.
Once the singles matches started, the true competition began. The Duke players in the 4, 5 and 6 positions did not allow any member of the Pack squad to score more than two points in a single set, quickly bringing the competition to 3-1, in Duke’s favor.
Bhambri, who won her match in the third set after a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 battle, put the Wolfpack back within 1 point of the lead. Nagaraj found herself in a similar situation as her doubles partner, winning two straight sets after dropping the first 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. With the score tied at 3-3, the whole thing came down to the match between Illova and the No. 18 ranked Reka Zsilinkszka. After fighting for three sets and closing her opponent down to a 4-3 lead at the end, Illova lost the final set, ending the Pack’s journey in the ACC tournament. Bhambri commented on the oddity of Duke’s best player being in the No. 3 spot.
“The girl that is No. 18 in the nation was playing at No. 3 for them,” Bhambri said. “That was a little unusual. In the end, that was the determining factor for us not winning. Tatiana [Illova] came very close to beating her. They have very strong freshmen. I think one of their freshmen has not lost a singles match all season.”
Although the ACC Tournament is now over, the season is not quite over for all of the players. The team now awaits the bids for the NCAA Team Championships as well as the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, which will be announced on Tuesday.
