Women's Tennis ACCtion: Thursday, April 3 :: Duke rolls past Wake Forest 6-1; North Carolina tops NC State 6-1.

April 3, 2008

No. 7 Duke Rolls Past Wake Forest, 6-1

DURHAM, N.C. - The seventh-ranked Duke women's tennis team posted a commanding 6-1 win over 32nd-ranked Wake Forest on Thursday afternoon at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham, N.C., as the Blue Devils improve to 13-3 (6-2 ACC) on the season.

The Demon Deacons fall even at 8-8 (4-3 ACC).

Doubles play saw the Blue Devils come away with all three victories, as the freshman duo of Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka defeated Emilee Malvhey and Aileen Davis, 8-3, at the No. 3 spot before the fifth-ranked Blue Devil tandem of sophomore Amanda Granson and junior Melissa Mang defeated Sasha Kulikova and Sierra Poske, 8-4, at the top position to clinch the point for Duke.

Action at No. 2 saw senior Tory Zawacki and junior Jessi Robinson combine for an 8-7 (7-5) win over Ana Jerman and Christian Tara.

No. 15 Tar Heels Take Down No. 50 NC State, 6-1

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 15 North Carolina got back on the winning track Thursday as the Tar Heels defeated No. 50 NC State, 6-1, at the Cone-Kenfield Indoor Tennis Center. Carolina, which hosts Wake Forest in its final home match Saturday, improved to 13-6 overall, 4-2 in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference.

The duo of junior Sophie Grabinski and sophomore Sanaz Marand set the tone early with a dominant 8-1 win over Daria Petrovic and Berkeley Brock at No. 1 doubles. Grabinski and Marand, who moved to No. 3 in the latest ITA national poll, broke their opponents three times to open the match and never looked back. No. 51 Austin Smith and Katrina Tsang sealed the point with an 8-3 victory over Julia Roach and Lenka Hojckova at No. 2, as the Tar Heels won three straight games to close out the match. Senior Alexandra Jurewitz and junior Meg Fanjoy completed the sweep with an 8-6 win at No. 3.

Marand kept the momentum going in singles play with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 over Petrovic at No. 2. Marand, ranked No. 8 in this week's ITA poll, improved to a sparkling 17-1 in dual match action, including a 5-1 mark in ACC play.