Duke has been Boston College’s kryptonite all year long in basketball, delivering the Eagles two hearty losses thus far. But BC was having much more success in other sports against the Blue Devils—that is, until women’s tennis faced off against them on the Eagles’ home courts.
The No. 49 Eagles (8-3, 0-3 Atlantic Coast) took on No. 10 Duke (8-2, 1-0) on Friday for the Blue Devils’ first conference matchup of the season and BC’s first top-10 test of this year. With the rankings on its side, Duke took home an easy 4-0 sweep after winning the doubles point and the first three singles matchups of the night, leaving the final three courts unfinished.
Dasha Possokhova and Hailey Wilcox took the courts first for the Eagles and earned BC its sole match win of the night at third doubles. The pair beat Summer Dvorak and Hannah Zhao 6-3 in the match, but their win wasn’t enough to secure the point for the Eagles.
Elene Tsokilauri and Laura Lopez took over at second doubles after Possokhova and Wilcox won the first match, but Duke’s Meible Chi and Margaryta Bilokin handled the Eagles with grace, winning their court 6-3 as well.
The final doubles matchup was decided in a similar manner with Duke’s Kelly Chen and Chloe Beck handling BC’s Yufei Long and Kylie Wilcox 6-3 as well. Chen and Beck’s victory gave Duke a 2-1 edge on the doubles courts to earn the first point of the match for the Blue Devils.
Chen proved herself to be Long’s personal kryptonite as she earned a victory in straight sets over the top-ranked Eagle on the singles courts. Long, who is currently ranked at No. 90 in the ITA national singles rankings, couldn’t overpower Chen, who sits at No. 7. Chen earned Duke’s second point of the day with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Chi then defeated Kylie Wilcox, the older of the Wilcox sisters, in a similar manner, 6-2, 6-4. Kylie’s younger sister Hailey, seated at No. 6 singles, didn’t get to finish her match as Duke notched its fourth point before the end of her second set. Though it went unfinished, the younger Wilcox’s court leaned in favor of BC, with Hailey winning the first set 7-5.
To close out the match for Duke, Bilokin beat Possokhova in straight sets as well, 6-2, 6-1. With Bilokin’s win, the Blue Devils secured their fourth and final point needed to head back to Durham with a conference win.
In the courts that didn’t finish, the results looked to be a bit more favorable for the Eagles, as the BC players held their own a bit more securely than in the first three courts. But losing the doubles’ point and the first three singles courts put them in a hole they couldn’t come back from.
Featured Image Charlie Fackler / For the Heights
