PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne women's tennis team traveled to the Tar Heel State for spring break for a pair of matches, splitting those contests with a 4-0 win over North Carolina Central and a 7-0 loss to 19th-ranked Wake Forest out of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Dukes 4, North Carolina Central 0
After three days of great practice the women's tennis team had their first spring break match against North Carolina Central. 

Julianne Herman and Laurel Shymansky found the top of the lineup once again and were able to get a quick break of serve and then maintain holds. With Shymansky serving for the set at 5-4, the duo as able to battle back from 0-40 in order to win 6-4. Tyra Abdalla and Miranda Bishard saw action at No. 3 doubles with the Eagles earning a hard-fought 6-2 win. The match came down to No. 2 doubles with Priyanka Mitta and Meredith Lee playing together once again. The match went back and forth until finally Mitta was able to serve out the set for a 6-4 Dukes win. 

Singles play was quite the opposite of the doubles. as Shymansky got off to a very fast start and was able to maintain the lead the whole match for a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles. Aishwarya Kona was the second match to finish as she claimed a 6-4, 6-0 triumph at No. 3 singles. With the Dukes gaining a 3-0 lead, they only needed one more match to secure the victory. It was eventually Maddy Adams that secured the win for Duquesne, winning at No. 4 singles 6-2, 6-2. Herman was playing #1 singles and had just split sets when the match was decided. 

"It was great to get that first win outdoors of the season, assistant coach Hunter Callahan said. "With the A-10 season just around the corner, we definitely needed some outdoor play and we were very lucky to get that down here in North Carolina. The girls had great practices outside to get ready for this match."

#19 Wake Forest 7, Dukes 0
The doubles point went in favor of Wake Forest with Herman/Shymansky losing at No. 1 6-0 and Adams/Pessy losing at No. 3 6-1. Mitta/Lee battled in a closely-contested match at No. 2 trailing 3-4 when the match was decided. The singles play followed with strong playing from the Demon Deacons. 
 
"Playing a top 20 team was a great experience for our program," head coach Vanessa Steiner said. "The girls learned a lot and are using this as motivation going into more conference play. This is a level we aspire to compete with and continue to build the program. We are looking forward to getting back to Pittsburgh to prepare for our upcoming matches!"


The Dukes also ad a match scheduled against Elon that was unfortunately canceled due to inclement weather.


NEXT UP
The Dukes return to Atlantic 10 play, making the trip to Dayton, Ohio this weekend to take on Saint Louis (March 23) and the Flyers (March 24).