DURHAM, N.C. -- The 29th-ranked Old Dominion women's tennis season came to an end on Saturday as the Monarchs dropped a 4-1 decision at third-seeded Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Duke scored the doubles point with wins at the two and three spots. Old Dominion did take the top line as the eighth-ranked duo of Yuliia Starodubtseva and Tatsiana Sasnouskaya scored a 6-3 win over the 17th-ranked tandem of Georgia Drummy and Karolina Berankova.
In singles, the Monarchs took their point at number one as Starodubtseva knocked off ninth-ranked Chloe Beck 6-4, 6-2. At number two, Tatsiana Sasouskaya and 14th-ranked Drummy were about to start a third set when the match was clinched. Old Dominion also held a lead at number six where Shahar Biran was up 6-4, 4-3 over Ellie Coleman when Duke clinched the win.
Duke, who was ranked fourth in the last poll and the tournament third-seed advances with a 21-3 record. Old Dominion concludes the team portion of their season with a 21-7 record, which ties the 2000-01 team for the most wins in school history.
Starodubtseva and Sasnouskaya earn Conference USA automatic bids to the NCAA Individual Championship tournament which will begin on May 23 in Champaign, Illinois. Starodubtseva ended the regular season as the highest ranked singles player in the league, while she and Sasnouskaya were the highest ranked doubles pair.
OLD DOMINION HEAD COACH DOMINIC MANILLA
"Tough performance today, but hats off to Duke for being able to kick into a higher gear at the big moments. Despite the loss today, I am proud of the season and the way we progressed. We finished very strong.
"Thank you so much to 'Monarch Nation' for the support this season. We can't tell you how much that means to all of us.
"Yuliia and Tanya (Sasnouskaya) will get to work getting ready for NCAA individuals. Both are playing their best. Go Monarchs"
No. 29 Women's Tennis Falls To No. 4 Duke 4-1 In NCAA Second Round
