DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 67 Portland Pilots battled No. 16 Duke, but came up short by a 4-0 margin in the opening match of the 2016 ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Duke moves on to face #29 Mississippi State on Saturday, while the Pilots (0-2) will take on No. 36 Florida State in a noon consolation match. Live stats and live video will be available for both matches.

Friday's match was closer than the final score indicated as it started with a very competitive doubles point. Duke's Samantha Harris and Kaitlyn McCarthy secured the first match at No. 2 doubles by a 6-3 margin over Pilot freshmen Radina Dimitrova and Tatiana Grigoryan.

The Blue Devils (2-0) had to overcome a 4-1 deficit at No. 3 doubles, but Alyssa Smith and Chalena Scholl were up to the task and defeated Portland seniors Tori Troesch and Maja Mladenovic by a 6-4 margin to secure the point.

Portland's top doubles tandem of Lucia Butkovska and Jelena Lazarevic were tied at 4-4 with the No. 26 ranked team in the nation, Beatrice Capra and Ellyse Hamlin, when the point was secured.

Singles play also proved quite competitive, but the Blue Devils lineup features four players ranked in the top 80 of the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings.

No. 29-ranked McCarthy made it 2-0 with a straight sets win over Mladenovic at the No. 2 spot. Jessica Ho then held off Lazarevic 6-3, 7-5 at No. 5, followed by No. 79 Scholl securing the match with a three-set win over Grigoryan at the No. 4 position.

Dimitrova was in a tough battle with 70th-ranked Hamlin at No. 3 singles, early in the third set when the match was called. Butkovska was also pushing for a third set against No. 28 Capra, leading 5-4 in the second at the conclusion of the match.

"We played a very competitive match against one of the best teams in the country," Portland head coach Susie Campbell said. "There were a few moments in the match today when it could have gone either way and we proved to ourselves that what we have done in practice is working. We are focused on controlling things on our side of the court and keeping the growth mindset. Today was definitely a great experience for our team and we have learned a lot and have improved a lot from it. The goal for tomorrow is to continue to play hard, to keep applying the things we are working on, and to continue to improve." 

Florida State dropped a 4-0 decision to Mississippi State in Friday's early match. Friday's matches were in question due to inclement weather in the area, but an early morning decision was made to continue as scheduled.


#16 Duke 4, #67 Portland 0
Durham, N.C. (Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center)
January 22, 2016

Singles
1. #28 Beatrice Capra (DUKE) vs. Lucia Butkovska (POR), 6-1, 4-5, unfinished
2. #29 Kaitlyn McCarthy (DUKE) def. Maja Mladenovic (POR) 6-3, 6-1
3. #70 Ellyse Hamlin (DUKE) vs. Radina Dimitrova (POR) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0, unfinished
4. #79 Chalena Scholl (DUKE) def. Tatiana Grigoryan (POR) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Jessica Ho (DUKE) def. Jelena Lazarevic (POR) 6-3, 7-5
6. Christina Makarova (DUKE) vs. Saroop Dhatt (POR) 6-3, 2-1, unfinished

Doubles
1. #26 Capra/Hamlin (DUKE) vs. Butkovska/Lazarevic (POR) 4-4, unfinished
2. Samantha Harris/McCarthy (DUKE) def. Dimitrova/Grigoryan (POR) 6-3
3. Alyssa Smith/Scholl (DUKE) def. Tori Troesch/Mladenovic (POR) 6-4

Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3) Singles (2,5,4)