Tag Archives: Amanda Granson

Women’s Tennis Starts Season Ranked No. 1

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Four top 100 ranked players will lead the presesason No. 1 Blue Devil squad this year. (Photo courtesy of Duke Photography)

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association named the Blue Devils the No. 1 team in women’s tennis Tuesday as Duke looks to defend last season’s national title. Northwestern, California, Georgia and Baylor round out the top five.

Four Duke players are ranked within the top 100 nationally: junior Reka Zsilinszka (No. 20), sophomore transfer Monica Gorny (No. 63), senior Amanda Granson (No. 80) and junior Ellah Nze is (No. 91). Zsilinszka was the 2009 NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player and went 10-7 during fall play.

The team will begin its season on Jan. 19 against Memphis.

Duke Downs Cal for National Title

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Propelled by a strong performance in doubles and a quick start in singles that saw five of six Duke women win their opening sets, the No. 3 Blue Devils cruised to a 4-0 win over No. 8 California en route to the 2009 national title in women’s tennis. The win marked the University’s first ever national title and 10th overall team national title.

“[This team] is unbelievably resilient,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “I’m so proud of them… We grinded out most of the year with six players and you can’t ask for anything more than what they gave every single day at practice and matches. To come through like they did today and beat a great Cal team, it’s just unbelievable.”

Duke’s performance in the doubles phase of the competition set an early tone, with the N0. 3 pair of sophomore Reka Zsilinszka and sophomore Ellah Nze notching a 8-4 win before the No. 2 duo of freshman Mallory Cecil and senior Jessi Robinson pulled away with an 8-5 match victory, giving Duke the all-important doubles point going into the singles phase of the competition.

The Blue Devils came out of the gates strong in singles, with Zsilinszka, Cecil, Robinson, junior Amanda Granson and senior Melissa Mang all winning their opening sets. Working quickly in the second set on Court 3, Zsilinszka put away Cal’s Mari Andersson 6-1, 6-2 to raise the Blue Devils point total to two. Meanwhile, Robinson fought back from an early 4-1 second set deficit on Court 6, winning five straight games to earn Duke a third overall point with a 6-2, 6-4 match victory.

Needing only one more team point to secure a national title, senior Melissa Mang roped in a forehand winner on Court 5 to seal a 6-1, 6-3 win and the NCAA crown.

Check back with the Sports Blog in the coming days for more coverage of Duke’s NCAA title-winning performance.

Nze Lifts Duke Into NCAA Championship Match

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It was a race to the finish–for sophomores Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka, that is.

The only Blue Devils still playing with Duke leading 3-2, Nze and Zsilinszka lined up with simultaneous match points to win their respective matches against their Georgia opponents.

Nze gets the bragging rights for this one, extracting a roar from the Blue Devil crowd at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center with her final point, moments before Zsilinszka completed her match on Court 3. But the real victor was Duke, who advanced to the championship match with a resounding win over No. 2 Georgia (27-3).

The Blue Devils will meet No. 8 California for the title Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ET). ESPNU will broadcast the match from College Station, Texas.

Duke captured its 17th win in a row with the victory. The Blue Devils have not lost since falling March 22 to Miami, an opponent they steamrolled en route to the national semifinals.

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Duke Storms Into Final Four

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Delayed start? Bitter rivalry?

No problem.

It seemed as if nothing could stop No. 3 Duke (27-3) from securing the 4-1 win Sunday afternoon at George P. Mitchell Tennis Stadium. The Blue Devils leaped past ACC rival and No. 6 Miami (26-5) into the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, dropping only one point along the way.

In the teams’ third meeting of the season–and first since Duke beat Miami for the ACC tournament crown April 19–the Blue Devils knew the Hurricanes would be seeking revenge. That meeting a month ago came down to one final singles duel between sophomore Reka Zsilinszka and Bianca Eichkorn at No. 3, in which Zsilinszka was down five match points and still outlasted Eichkorn for the win.

Sunday, Zsilinszka provided Duke with the clinching point once again. This time, Zsilinszka–and Duke–seemed determined to end things before the match came down to the final singles point.

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Duke Sets Up Quarterfinal Rematch With ACC Rival

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Last week, head coach Jamie Ashworth said the Blue Devils weren’t looking ahead to a potential third meeting with ACC rival Miami, which they bested April 19 in a thrilling ACC Championship final.

They’re looking now.

After Miami punched its ticket to the NCAA Quarterfinals first, it was up to Duke to do its part. The Blue Devils rose to the challenge, taking four straight points Friday to seal a 4-2 Round of 16 victory over No. 14 Arkansas (15-8) in College Station, TX. They will face Miami in their 13th Quarterfinal appearance in school history and first since 2006.

No. 3 Duke (26-3) dug itself out of an early hole in which it dropped the doubles point for the first time in over a month. Amanda Granson and Melissa Mang fell 8-4 to the Razorbacks’ top pair of Nanar Airapetian and Anouk Tigu, while the combo of Reka Zsilinszka and Ellah Nze could not hold off Arkansas at the third doubles position.

“We came out a little flat,” Ashworth said. “We’ve done such a good job of being aggressive and controlling the tempo in doubles, but I thought we came out a little bit more defensive and more in the mode of hoping that Arkansas would miss, rather than us being the aggressive ones.”

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