Hurricanes Fall To Duke 4-3 in ACC Action
April 6, 2007
Durham, N.C. – The ninth-ranked University of Miami fell to No. 21 Duke University, 4-3 this afternoon at the Ambler Tennis Stadium. The Hurricanes fall to 15-4 overall and 6-2 in the ACC, while Duke improved 10-5 on the season and 5-2 in conference play.
No. 31 tandem Audra Cohen and Caren Seenauth registered the first doubles point, defeating Tory Zawacki and Elizabeth Plotkin, 8-5 at the No. 2 position, and remain undefeated in the dual season with 13 wins overall. However, the Blue Devils went on to capture the doubles point as No. 15 Audrey Banada and Romy Farah fell to No. 5 Daniela Bercek and Melissa Mang 8-5 at the No. 1 spot, while at the No. 3 slot, Gina Sabatino and Laura Vallverdu loss to Jessi Robinson and Amanda Granson, 8-5.
Following doubles, No. 1 ranked Cohen responded with a 6-3, 6-1 win over the Duke’s No. 59 Daniela Bercek in singles, to put Miami on the board.
The Blue Devils captured the next singles point at the No. 6 spot, with junior Caren Seenauth falling to Clelia Deltour 6-2, 6-3.
Now the battle was on as No. 44 senior Banada registered the Hurricane’s second singles point to tie the match at 2-2. Banada competed in a battle of her own as she took on No. 75 Melissa Mang at the No. 2 slot. The North Miami Beach, Fla. native held Mang to just one point in the first set, but it was in the second that proved the competition was well-and-good as Banada won a close game at 7-5.
Miami’s only lead in the match came as fourteenth-ranked freshman Vallverdu registered an impressive 7-5, 6-3 defeat over the Blue Devils’ junior, Tory Zawacki.
With the Hurricanes in the lead as the match was set at 3-2, Duke rallied back to tie the score winning the singles point in the No. 3 position, with junior Romy Farah falling to Elizabeth Plotkin 6-3, 6-4.
The battled boiled over in the final singles match with junior Gina Sabatino taking on Amanda Granson. Sabatino came up with three games in the first set falling 3-6. In the next set the Waltham, Mass. native battled back to capture the 6-4 win. It came down to the final set as both players charged back and forth, but it was Granson who gained the advantage taking the final set win at 7-6 (7-2).
Miami will continue their conference road swing as they take on North Carolina beginning at11 a.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
Miami vs. Duke Match Results:
Singles
1. #1 Audra Cohen (M) def. #59 Daniela Bercek (D) 6-3, 6-1
2. #44 Audrey Banada (M) def. #75 Melissa Mang (D) 6-1, 7-5
3. Elizabeth Plotkin (D) def. Romy Farah (M) 6-3, 6-4
4. Amanda Granson (D) def. Gina Sabatino (M) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
5. #14 Laura Vallverdu (M) def. Tory Zawacki (D) 7-5, 6-3
6. Clelia Deltour (D) def. Caren Seenauth (M) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. #5 D. Bercek/M. Mang (D) def. #15 A. Banada/R. Farah (M) 8-5
2. #31 A. Cohen/C. Seenauth (M) def. T. Zawacki/E. Plotkin (D) 8-5
3. Jessi Robinson/A. Granson (D) def. G. Sabatino/L. Vallverdu (M) 8-5
