Tribe Falls in NCAA Second Round at No. 9 Duke

Sophomore Carmen Pop claimed the lone Tribe victory on the day at the No. 6 singles slot.

05/10/08 3:00PM

Durham, N.C. - The No. 24 William and Mary women's tennis team fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at No. 9 Duke, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon. The setback snapped a 10-match winning streak for the College as it concluded the year at 18-9 overall. Sophomore Carmen Pop claimed the lone Tribe win on the day with a triumph at the No. 6 singles slot.

The Blue Devils took the opening point of the match with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions. Pop evened the contest at one, winning the first singles matches off the court. The Nijmegen, Holland native defeated Jessi Robinson, 7-5, 6-0, at the No. 6 slot for her sixth straight win. In fact, Pop finished the 2008 campaign by winning 10 of her last 11 matches, while improving her season ledger to 14-6.

Duke advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament by winning the next three singles matches at the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 5 spots to secure the team victory. Sophomore Ragini Acharya, who is ranked No. 119 nationally, led No. 24-ranked Reka Zsilinszka, 7-5, 2-1, at the No. 3 slot before the match was abandoned due to the team results being decided. At the No. 2 position, junior Kat Zoricic was headed to a third set after splitting the first two, 2-6, 6-4, with No. 21-ranked Ellah Nze.

Senior Megan Moulton-Levy and junior Kat Zoricic will compete in the NCAA Individual Championships, May 21-26, in Tulsa, Okla. The University of Tulsa will host the event at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. Moulton-Levy, who has already earned ITA All-America honors for the fifth time in her career after garnering a No. 9-16 seed in the NCAA Singles Championship, will compete in both the singles and doubles events at the NCAA Championships. Moulton-Levy and Zoricic will compete in the NCAA Doubles Championship for the third straight season. The duo, which is currently ranked No. 11 nationally, was the national runner-up last season.

#9 Duke 4, #24 William and Mary 1
Singles
No. 1 – #125 Tara Iyer (Duke) def. #12 Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) – 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 – Kat Zoricic (W&M) vs. #21 Ellah Nze (Duke) – 2-6, 6-4, DNF
No. 3 – #119 Ragini Acharya (W&M) vs. #24 Reka Zsilinszka (Duke) – 7-5, 2-1, DNF
No. 4 – Melissa Mang (Duke) def. Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) – 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 – Amanda Granson (Duke) def. Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) – 6-0, 6-4
No. 6 – Carmen Pop (W&M) def. Jessi Robinson (Duke) – 7-5, 6-0
Finishing Order: 6, 4, 5, 1*

Doubles
No. 1 - #11 Moulton-Levy/Zoricic (W&M) vs. #7 Granson/Mang (Duke) – 7-6, DNF
No. 2 – Iyer/Robinson (Duke) def. Acharya/Kasztelaniec (W&M) – 8-2
No. 3 – Nze/Zsilinszka (Duke) def. Pop/Sabacinski (W&M) – 8-2
Finishing Order: 3, 2*