DURHAM, N.C. - The No. 40-ranked William and Mary women's tennis team opened the 2014 dual-match campaign with a 6-1 setback at No. 10 Duke on Sunday afternoon. Freshman
Nabila Farah led the Tribe effort with a come-from-behind, three-set victory at the No. 4 singles position for her first career dual-match victory.
Duke took the opening point of the match with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles positions. Rachel Kahan and Marianne Jodoin notched a 6-1 triumph over the Tribe pair of freshman
Mélanie Roy and
Julia Casselbury at the No. 3 post to give the Blue Devils the early advantage. Annie Mulholland and Ester Goldfeld, who are ranked No. 14 nationally as a team, clinched the initial point of the match with a 6-3 win over the Tribe duo of senior
Maria Belaya and sophomore
Leeza Nemchinov at the No. 1 slot.
Straight-set Duke wins at the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions cemented the first team victory of the season for the Blue Devils. Farah put the Tribe on the board with a victory at the No. 4 position with her fourth straight victory. The Green and Gold rookie dropped the opening set to Mulholland, 6-4, before rallying to win the second, 6-4. In the decisive third set super tiebreaker, Farah recorded her seventh win of the season by outlasting her Blue Devil counterpart, 11-9.
The Tribe returns to action it hosts the first of three straight at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Wednesday, Jan. 15. W&M welcomes in-state rival and No. 13-ranked Virginia to Williamsburg on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. The Tribe will then host a doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 18, against East Carolina and James Madison at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
#10 Duke 6, #40 William and Mary 1
Singles
No. 1 – #49 Hanna Mar (Duke) def. #65
Maria Belaya (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 – #45 Ester Goldfeld (Duke) def. #89
Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 – Chalena Scholl (Duke) def.
Mélanie Roy (W&M) – 6-0, 6-0
No. 4 –
Nabila Farah (W&M) def. Annie Mulholland (Duke) – 4-6, 6-4, 11-9
No. 5 – Marianne Jodoin (Duke) def.
Sydney Smith (W&M) – 6-0, 6-0
Finishing Order: 5, 3, 6 *, 2, 1, 4
Doubles
No. 1 - #14 Mulholland/Goldfeld (Duke) def. Belaya/Nemchinov (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Capra/Mar (Duke) vs. Farah/Smith (W&M) – DNF, 4-3
No. 3 – Kahan/Jodoin (Duke) def. Casselbury/Roy (W&M) – 6-1
Finishing Order: 3, 1*
