CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 4 Duke women's tennis team gave a valiant effort as the Blue Devils battled to the very end but ultimately came up short, falling to No. 2 Oklahoma in the national semifinal match, 4-3, Saturday night at the Atkins Indoor Tennis Center.

"I thought Oklahoma played well," said head coach Jamie Ashworth. "They're seeded No. 2 for a reason and had the season they did for a reason. Hats off to them. They got us in the doubles there. I thought we left some opportunities out there on the court in the doubles, but we recovered and fought our butts off in the singles. Teams are too good when you get to this point to give them a point with that doubles, and for us to be able to win four singles would've been a great accomplishment but we came up just a little bit short."

With the loss, the Blue Devils close the door on an incredible season that saw the team finish with an overall record of 23-4,  capture the program's 18th ACC title and first since 2012, and advance to the NCAA semifinals for the 11th time in school history and ninth with Ashworth at the helm.

"I told them [the team] after that they need to be really proud of the fact that they hung two banners in our indoor center," Ashworth said regarding his message to the team. "They won the ACC Tournament, the toughest conference in the country, and made the final four. We're one of four teams that had a chance here and they have to be proud of that, what they've done and how much better they've gotten as a group. We couldn't be prouder of how they represented themselves and us as a team."

Oklahoma (32-2) claimed the doubles point following wins on the top two courts. The Sooner's 10th-ranked sister duo of Carmen and Ivana Corley opened the evening with a 6-3 defeat of No. 17 Georgia Drummy and Karolina Berankova in flight one, but the Blue Devils countered shortly after as their tandem of Eliza Omirou and Margaryta Bilokin made quick work of their opposition on court three, besting Dana Guzman and Emma Staker, 6-2.

The doubles point came down to the outcome on court two where No. 49 Chloe Beck and Ellie Coleman were locked in a battle against Oklahoma's Alexandra Pisareva and Layne Sleeth. The matchup was a tightly-contested back-and-forth affair as the teams split the first 10 games. Unfortunately, Pisareva and Sleeth were able to clinch the doubles point as they edged Beck and Coleman, 7-5, to give the Sooners the early 1-0 lead. 

Drummy got the Blue Devils on the board with a win on court two over No. 53 Carmen Corley. The 14th-ranked senior breezed to a 6-0 decision in the opening set before pulling out set two, 7-5, to tie the overall match score at one apiece.

Oklahoma retook the lead following No. 10 Sleeth's 6-0, 6-4 win over No. 9 Beck at the top slot. Duke issued a response of its own, this one coming from freshman Emma Jackson as she bested No. 97 Ivana Corley 7-5, 6-3 victory to level the match at 2-2.

Pisareva gave the Sooners a 3-2 edge following her 6-1, 6-4 triumph against Coleman at number four singles but once again Duke had an answer, with No. 106 senior Kelly Chen coming through once again. Taking on Guzman in flight four, Chen scored a 6-3, 7-5 decision to extend the match and level the score at three all.

The match point came down to court six where Omirou and Staker were going head-to-head. Omirou battled back from a set down and grinded out a 7-5 decision in set two to force the deciding third set. Duke's rally would fall short however, as Staker took the final set to give the Sooners the victory.

"I love this team," Ashworth added. "I love what they've done and how they responded to a little bit of adversity during the year. I love how they got better – Better as a team, closer as a team and ultimately that's what you want. Whatever the result may be, you want them to be able to look back and know that everything they put in was worth the effort, and it certainly was."

Up Next:
Duke will feature a trio in the individual championships as Beck, Berankova and Drummy will represent the Blue Devils at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Individual Championships May 23-28 in Champaign.

Beck and Drummy earned top-16 seeds and will compete in the singles draw, while the tandem of Berankova and Drummy will represent the Blue Devils in doubles competition. The draw for the individual competition will be released on Sunday, May 22 before play begins Monday.
 
RESULTS
Singles (2,1,3,5,4,6*)
1. #10 Layne Sleeth (OU) def. #9 Chloe Beck (DU) 6-0, 6-4
2. #14 Georgia Drummy (DU) def. #53 Carmen Corley (OU) 6-0, 7-5
3. Emma Jackson (DU) def. #97 Ivana Corley (OU) 7-5, 6-3
4. #106 Kelly Chen (DU) def. Dana Guzman (OU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Alexandra Pisareva (OU) def. Ellie Coleman (DU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Emma Staker (OU) def. Eliza Omirou (DU) 6-0, 5-7, 6-0
 
 
Doubles (1,3,2)
1. #10 Ivana Corley/Carmen Corley (OU) def. #17 Georgia Drummy/Karolina Berankova (DU) 6-3
2. Alexandra Pisareva/Layne Sleeth (OU) def. #49 Chloe Beck/Ellie Coleman (DU) 7-5
3. Margaryta Bilokin/Eliza Omirou (DU) def. Dana Guzman/Emma Staker (OU) 6-2
 
 
For more information on Duke women's tennis, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeWTEN".
 
 
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