May 10, 2000

2000 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS

#6 Duke (21-5) vs. Winthrop (14-3) in First Round

May 12-13, 2000
Duke Tennis Stadium
Durham, N.C.

NO. 6 DUKE LOOKS TO BEGIN QUEST TO FINAL FOUR

The No. 6 ranked Duke women's tennis team will begin its quest for a fifth straight NCAA Final Four on Friday, May 12, when the Blue Devils host Winthrop University. Duke will be hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time with Winthrop, North Carolina, and Arkansas attending. Arkansas (9-12) and North Carolina (10-13) will get things started on Friday at 10:00 AM and then Duke (21-5) and Winthrop (14-3) will battle at 2:00 PM in the Duke Tennis Stadium. The winners will take on each other on Saturday at 4:00 PM for the chance to advance on to Malibu, California in the final 16.

Duke is playing in its 11th straight NCAA Tournament and is making its 12th overall selection to the "Big Dance." Winthrop received the Big South Conference automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, after winning its second straight Big South Conference title. The postseason bid is the first ever by a Big South Conference team.

The Blue Devils are coming off winning their 13th straight ACC Championship, in dramatic fashion, by knocking off No. 3 ranked Wake Forest (5-3) in the ACC Tournament. Duke avenged an earlier 6-3 loss to Wake Forest in Durham, N.C., which broke its 116-match overall ACC win streak.

Duke is led by No. 1 singles player Megan Miller, ranked No. 12 in the latest WingspanBank.com Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The junior native of Palm City, Fla., was named ACC Tournament MVP after going 3-0 in singles play and 1-0 in doubles action. She has totaled a 22-13 singles record this season and a career 99-29 overall record.

The Blue Devils boast one other ranked singles player in Kathy Sell, who plays at the No. 2 singles slot. Sell, a junior from Moorestown, N.J., is ranked No. 37 and is 31-15 in 1999-2000. She became only the 13th Duke player to reach the 100-win mark in her career this season and is currently at 107-31.

In doubles action the Blue Devils are led by the 21st ranked duo of Erica Biro/Brooke Siebel, who have posted a 20-10 record.

Both Miller and Sell were selected to the NCAA singles competition and Biro/Siebel will represent Duke in the NCAA doubles competition from May 22-26.

DUKE WINS 13TH STRAIGHT ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

Wow, what a finish! The Blue Devils claimed their 13th straight ACC Championship on April 16 by knocking off No. 3 Wake Forest 5-3. It was all knotted at 3-3 after singles play concluded, but the Blue Devils came out and stole two doubles matches to take the crown.

Junior Megan Miller of Duke defeated No. 5 Adria Engel at the No. 1 singles slot 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 for a huge win. This was after Engel defeated Miller 6-0, 6-2 earlier this season in Durham. Other singles wins for Duke were by Erica Biro (6-3, 3-6, 6-1 over Maren Haus) and Prim Siripipat (6-4, 6-3 over AnneMarie Milton). Milton had also defeated Siripipat earlier this season by a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 score.

In doubles play the duo of Katie Granson/Kathy Sell came out and quickly won 8-3 over Engel/Jackie Houston at the No. 3 slot to give the Blue Devils a 4-3 lead. Duke needed one more victory to clinch the win and Miller/Hillary Adams came through with a 8-4 victory over Milton/Haus at the No. 2 spot. This gave Duke the 5-3 victory!

Miller became the 12th consecutive Duke player to record MVP honors in the event. For the weekend she posted a 3-0 singles record and 1-0 in doubles action.

Other Duke players who have been tabbed the tournament MVP are: Karen Goldstein, 1999, Kathy Sell, 1998, Karin Miller, 1997, Laura Zifer, 1996, Wendy Lyons, 1994-95, Christine Neuman, 1993, Susan Sommerville, 1992, Katrina Greenman, 1991, Julie Exum, 1990, Susan Sabo, 1989. Duke advanced to the finals by defeating Maryland (5-0) and 23rd-ranked Clemson (5-1).

SCOUTING THE FIELD

Traveling to Durham, N.C. this weekend to compete in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament will be Arkansas, North Carolina, and Winthrop.

Arkansas will be making its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, after turning in a 9-12 record this season. They are led by junior Chin Bee Khoo, who is ranked No. 19 in the latest individual rankings. She has totaled a 34-12 record this season and is 20-6 at the No. 1 slot. Khoo is teamed with Andrea Ho and is ranked No. 40 in doubles.

North Carolina is making its second-straight appearance in the tournament. The Tarheels finished the season with a 10-13 record and are led by freshman Marlene Mejia, who is ranked No. 82. She posted a 22-13 record in her first collegiate season. The duo of Mejia and Erin Niebling are ranked No. 49 in doubles action.

Winthrop received its first bid to the NCAA Tournament, after winning the Big South Conference title. The Lady Eagles went 14-3 on the season with a perfect 6-0 league record. They are led by sophomore Thais Freitas and senior Juliana Marques with 14-3 and 11-2 records, respectively.

DUKE TIDBITS

Duke has won 15 of the last 16 matches with its lone loss coming to No. 4 Wake Forest ... The Blue Devils have lost five matches all season long to top 15 opponents (No. 3 California, No. 6 Pepperdine, No. 4 Florida, No. 3 Wake Forest, and No. 15 William & Mary ) ... This season junior Kathy Sell picked up her 100th career victory to become Duke's 13th player to reach that plateau ... Junior Megan Miller needs one more victory to reach the 100-win mark ... Freshman Katie Granson has posted a 12-6 record this season ... Another freshman, Prim Siripipat, is 26-10 in her first year ... Sophomore Erica Biro is 29-12.

INDIVIDUAL AND DOUBLES PLAYERS SELECTED

Megan Miller (Palm City, Fla.) and Kathy Sell (Moorestown, N.J.) were each selected to participate in the NCAA individual singles competition, while the doubles duo of Erica Biro (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Brooke Siebel (Ross, Ca.) will represent Duke in the doubles competition.

The bid for Miller marks the second year in a row she will participate in the singles competition. Last year as a sophomore, she won her first round match against Barbara Urbanska of Wisconsin (6-2, 6-4), but lost in the second round to Mariel Verban of Wake Forest (4-6, 2-6). Miller is ranked No. 12 and enters NCAA play with a 22-13 record.

Sell will make her first appearance in the singles competition after turning in a 31-15 record this season. In the fall she won the Southeast Regional singles competition and is ranked No. 37 in the latest rankings.

In doubles play the No. 21 ranked duo of Biro/Siebel will represent Duke, after finishing 20-10 this season. This will be the first appearance for both players in the NCAA doubles competition.

Since 1990, Duke has sent at least one singles and one doubles team to the NCAA individual championships.

DUKE IN THE RANKINGS

Duke boasts two singles players and one doubles team ranked in the latest WingspanBank.com Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Megan Miller is ranked No. 12 and Kathy Sell is No. 37 in singles, while Erica Biro/Brooke Siebel are No. 21 in doubles. As a team the Blue Devils are ranked No. 6 as Duke moved ahead of Pepperdine in the rankings released on May 10.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Duke is appearing in its 12th NCAA Championships and its 11th-straight trip to the NCAA's. The program has also made appearances in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. Duke has complied an 18-11 overall record in 11 NCAA Championships appearances.

The Blue Devils established a new precedent seven years ago in 1992 and matched it in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 by advancing to the NCAA Final Four. In 1998 Duke advanced to their first national championship match by defeating Arkansas 5-1, Mississippi 6-0, and Stanford 5-4. Duke's run ended with a loss to Florida by a 5-1 margin.

In the program's first 11 years in the NCAA Championship, the Blue Devils have been knocked out by the eventual national champion six times (Stanford in 1988, Florida in 1992, Texas in 1993, Georgia in 1994, Stanford in 1997, and Florida in 1998).

WAKE FOREST ENDS DUKE'S STREAK

Wake Forest came into Durham, N.C. on April 5 and broke Duke's 116 -match ACC win streak by defeating the Blue Devils 6-3. Prior to that, the last ACC loss for the Blue Devils was on March 30, 1989 to Wake Forest (5-4) in Winston-Salem, N.C.

THE HEAD COACH

Jamie Ashworth is in his fourth season as the head coach of the women's tennis team at Duke University. He served as the interim head coach for half of the 1996-97 campaign and enjoyed his first full year at the helm of the program in 1997-98. Prior to that Ashworth spent over two years as the Blue Devil assistant coach.

Ashworth has been an instrumental part of the last six years of success in the Duke women's tennis program. In his first full year as a head coach in 1997-98, he led Duke to a school record 27 wins, its 11th-consecutive ACC regular season and tournament titles, the school's best final national ranking at No. 2, its third-straight Final Four, and the program's first appearance in the NCAA title match.

After taking over the Duke program on March 20, 1997, Ashworth paced Duke to a 12-1 overall record and a 4-0 conference mark to wrap up the 1996-97 season. He owns a career head coaching record of 84-14 and 27-1 in the conference after the Blue Devils have gone 18-5 and 7-1 in the ACC during the 1999-2000 campaign. During his term as the assistant coach, the Blue Devils recorded a 59-13 overall record and a 20-0 ACC mark.

In his first year as an assistant, 1994-95, Duke went 22-6, advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and finished the year ranked No. 7. In 1995-96, he helped pace Duke to a 25-4 mark (then a school record for wins in a season), a trip to the NCAA Final Four, and a No. 3 national ranking. In 1996-97, Duke advanced to its second-straight NCAA Final Four, finishing the year again ranked No. 3 in the country.

Ashworth has coached 11 All-America selections and four collegiate grand slam champions during his stay with the Blue Devils. That includes four-time All-America Vanessa Webb, the 1998 NCAA singles national champion. He has taken the Blue Devils to three straight NCAA Final Fours as a head coach and was a part of their 1995-96 Final Four team as assistant coach. In four years as head coach he has guided Duke to four straight ACC Championships, which extends Duke ACC Championships streak to 13 in a row.

A Speech Communication graduate of Maryland in 1994, Ashworth was a four-year letterwinner for the Terps. He served as a captain of the team his junior and senior years. Ashworth, a native of Amherst, New Hampshire, resides in Durham with his wife, Kelly.