May 17, 2000

2000 NCAA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS

Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center - Malibu, Calif.
Host Pepperdine University

Head Coach Jamie Ashworth Comments

"It is definitely a tough match. I think the No. 11 ranking is a little deceiving because some of their losses came when their best player was out. I think they are better than No. 11 in the country. We are going to have to come out and establish ourselves right from the beginning of the match. If we let them come out and push us around a little bit they can gain some confidence and feel like they have a chance to beat us we are going to be in trouble because they are just going to get on top of us. If we can come out from the beginning and play our games and stay in control and stay disciplined, then I think we have as good of shot as anyone to do well here in the whole tournament. We have been playing well the last month and hopefully it will continue through the next weekend."

"I think we have to win one spot out of the top three. If we are 3-3 we will be fine. Our doubles are as good as anybody's in the country. I am thinking going into the match it is going to come down to doubles."

On Duke's No. 1 Singles player Megan Miller...

"Megan has been playing well. She has been more or less the leader for us on the court the last month. If she can establish herself and get into a good match and hopefully a quick match people will feed off of her as they have been."

Practice Tuesday...

"We came in late Monday night and our first practice we wanted to get used to the speed of the courts and your surroundings. We hit a lot of balls yesterday and haven't talked about the tournament yet. We will do that tonight."

On being in Malibu, California...

It is a good place to be. It is different. People are excited to be here, which is good. If you can't be excited about being here you have some problems."

DUKE TO TRAVEL TO MALIBU FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

The No. 6 ranked Duke women's tennis team is two wins away from advancing to its fifth straight NCAA Final Four as the Blue Devils will travel to Malibu, Calif. for the sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Duke (23-5, 7-1 ACC) cruised to two victories in the first and second rounds over Winthrop (5-0) and No. 37 Arkansas (5-0).

Duke's first opponent in the sweet 16 will be Arizona State, ranked 11th nationally, which won easily over Army (5-0) and Mississippi State (6-0). The Sun Devils are currently 14-7, 4-4 in the PAC 10 and boast three nationally ranked singles players: Allison Bradshaw (15th), Karin Palme (24th), and Megan Years (81st). Bradshaw and Celena McCoury are ranked tied for 18th in doubles.

Duke is playing in its 11th straight NCAA Tournament and is making its 12th overall selection to the "Big Dance."

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 24-13 singles record this season and a career 101-29 overall record. Miller became only the 14th Duke player to reach the 100-win plateau in the first round with an easy 6-0, 6-0 victory over Judit Trunkos of Winthrop. In the second round, Miller demolished 18th ranked Chin Bee Khoo of Arkansas 6-1, 6-1. She has won six straight matches.

The Blue Devils boast one other ranked singles player in Kathy Sell, who plays at the No. 2 slot. Sell, a junior from Moorestown, N.J., is ranked No. 37 and is 32-15 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 108-31.

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.

BLUE DEVILS CRUISE THROUGH FIRST TWO ROUNDS

It took less than 90 minutes to dismantle the Winthrop Lady Eagles in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on May 12 in Durham, N.C. Duke received five quick singles wins from Megan Miller (6-0, 6-0), Kathy Sell (6-1, 6-2), Erica Biro (6-2, 6-1), Hillary Adams (6-1, 6-0), and Prim Siripipat (6-1, 6-0) to win 5-0. Duke's Kate Granson won the first set 7-6 and was leading 2-0 in the second when the match was called.

In the second round, the match took a little longer but it was the same result at Duke defeated No. 37 ranked Arkansas 5-0. Miller started everything off with a surprisingly quick win over No. 18 Chin Bee Khoo (6-1, 6-1). Other Blue Devil wins came by Granson (6-2, 4-6, 6-1), Biro (2-6, 6-2, 6-1), Adams (6-3, 6-3), and Siripipat (7-5, 6-0).

MORE ON ARIZONA STATE

This will mark the second time in Duke's history the Blue Devils have faced Arizona State in NCAA Tournament action. The two teams played in 1991 in the second round with Duke winning 5-1. The overall series is even at 2-2 and the last meeting came back in 1991.

Arizona State has played some of the same competition as Duke this season. They split with California (W, 5-4 in first meeting and L, 7-2 the second time), defeated William & Mary (7-2), lost to Texas (6-3), and lost to Washington (5-4).

SCOUTING THE FIELD

The NCAA Tournament field of 64 has now been trimmed to 16 for the chance to win the national championship in Malibu, Calif. Making the trip will be No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 California, No. 7 Texas, No. 9 UCLA, No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 11 Arizona State, No. 12 Southern California, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 14 Northwestern, No. 17 South Alabama, No. 18 Tennessee, and No. 32 LSU.

So far this season, Duke has recorded a 5-3 record against the final 16 teams. Here is how the Blue Devils have fared: Notre Dame (W, 5-1), Tennessee (W, 7-2), Northwestern (W, 6-2), California (L, 1-7), Florida (L, 4-5), Texas (W, 6-3), and Wake Forest (L, 3-6 and W, 5-3).

To advance to a fifth straight NCAA Final Four, Duke will have to get through Arizona State and then battle the winner of No. 4 Florida (23-2) or No. 13 Notre Dame (23-6). Duke lost a very close match against Florida earlier this season in Durham, N.C. and owns a 1-23 record against the Gators. The Blue Devils own a perfect 6-0 record against Notre Dame.

DUKE TIDBITS

Duke has won 17 of the last 18 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 notched her 100th career victory on May 12 in first round of the NCAA Tournament ... Freshman Katie Granson has posted a 13-6 record this season ... Another freshman, Prim Siripipat, is 28-10 in her first year ... Sophomore Erica Biro is 31-12.

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 is currently 24-13 this season. Sell will make her first appearance in the singles competition after turning in a 32-15 record so far 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 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).

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 a 20-11 overall record in 12 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).

ALL-ACC BLUE DEVILS

The Atlantic Coast Conference Champion Duke womenâs tennis team placed three players on the All-ACC squad released on April 28. Selected to the team were Megan Miller, Kathy Sell, and Erica Biro. It marks the 14th straight year Duke has received three or more selections, since the ACC began honoring the womenâs tennis players in 1987.

Miller was selected to the team for the third straight year, after leading Duke to its 13th straight ACC Championship. She was named ACC Tournament MVP, after going 3-0 in singles action and 1-0 in doubles. After turning in a 31-15, 6-2 ACC record in the regular season, Sell was named All-ACC for the second year in a row. The Moorestown, N.J. junior played at the Nos. 1-3 singles slots this season for the Blue Devils and is currently ranked No. 37. Biro received the honor for the first time in her career, after recording an outstanding 29-12 overall record in the regular season as a sophomore. For the second straight season she posted an undefeated ACC regular season and improves her overall ACC record to 10-0. She is teamed with senior Brooke Siebel in doubles and are ranked No. 21 nationally. Freshman Adria Engel of Wake Forest took home ACC Player and Freshman of the Year honors, while WFU head coach Brian Fleishman was named Coach of the Year. Duke and Wake Forest each had three players on the All-ACC team to lead the way.

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.