Dear Blue Devil Fans,

First of all hope you all had a Happy Easter! DWT had an amazing weekend. Our first match of the weekend was against Virginia and we always have close matches with them. Just like last year we pulled out a close one 4-3. Although we lost the doubles point against Virginia the girls bounced right back and played really well and when we met up in the locker room before heading out to singles we made sure to forget the doubles point and come out strong in the singles. Annie had a close match winning 7-6, 7-5 to give us a 3-2 lead. Ester competed extremely well but just couldn’t get the win making the match tied at 3-3. Our number 1 singles Hanna was on the spot. Fighting back from down 5-2 in the set and down 5-0 in the tiebreaker was able to grind and fight and pull out the win. We had an extremely loud crowd that supported us this weekend that really helped the girls. This match was huge for DWT confidence and kept us undefeated in ACC play. Next we had Virginia tech and we talked a lot about bringing the same amount of energy and fight and after an emotional day the day before making sure that we took care of business. DWT certainly took care of business winning the match 4-1 in only a little over 2 hours. After the match concluded we got to sing Annie happy birthday as she turned 20!!!!

Up next we have Clemson and Georgia tech that will be our last home matches of the season where we will be honoring our senior Mary Clayton. Mary has been an incredible leader on this team and has showed some great heart and fight at her time here at Duke!!!

Thank you everyone who came out to the matches can’t wait to see you this weekend!!!

Rachel and the rest of DWT! 

DWT beats Florida and Princeton. Next Stop Michigan Notre Dame

Dear Blue Devil Fans,

Sorry for not having a blog post in awhile we have been super busy with midterms coming up and cant forget to mention DWT’s huge win over number 2 ranked and also 2 time defending champion Florida. This is my third year at Duke and we have not beaten them since I have attended Duke. Our most recent lost to them was 4-3 at the NCAA tournament which was a huge heartbreaker and the team was hungry for revenge. The girls came out with such fight and energy that we were able to pull out a win. We talked a lot before the match about how we need to BELIEVE that we can beat them and that we put in the time and effort needed to succeed, as well as focusing on playing the person rather than the name on the jersey.  The girls were extremely proud of what they accomplished and it was mentioned several times that hard work does pay off, and all the hours put in were worth it after a win like that.

After that big win we had a meeting with Greg Dale where we talked about what we did well and what it looks like when we play well versus when we are having an off day. We used this to pinpoint what makes us not play our best such as pressure or fear of loosing, and came up with strategies to help us preform our best as often as possible. Our next match was Princeton who we knew wasn’t as big of as match as Florida but the girls set up goals for themselves to keep them motivated. DWT knew that that they were going to come out fighting hard and they did not want a let down after their huge win. They knew that the stands weren’t going to be as full as Florida and we needed to bring our own energy which we did, it was not our best match but we did enough to get the win.

Next up the girls will travel to Michigan and Notre Dame. Both are very good teams and from my experience last year Notre Dame was a very hard place to play at they have a great crowd that comes out to the matches.

Although I am not traveling with the team to these matches I will be rooting for them, just like all of you who are reading this blog, and could not be more proud of the way that these girls have been preforming. I would love nothing more than to be out their competing with them but there is no doubt in my mind that these girls are going to have an unbelievable season this year.

We really appreciate everyone who has been coming out to support us at our matches and we are really excited to see you all at the matches as our outdoor season is right around the corner!

Rachel Kahan and the rest of DWT!!!!

Ready, Set, Go Duke!

Hi Duke Tennis Fans,

I hope you’ve all had a great couple of weeks! Unfortunately, National Indoors didn’t go quite as well as we would’ve liked. We competed well as a team in our first two matches against Baylor and Northwestern, but fell short against UNC in the semifinals. Despite the disappointing loss we move forward with a heightened level of motivation and focus for the upcoming weekend.

Come out and support us Sunday at 12pm for a HUGE rematch against #2 Florida in Sheffield Indoor Stadium!!!!! The courts are located at the end of Kville by BlueZone. Having taken confidence from our wins and lessons from our loss DWT is ready for some payback time!

We’ll have FREE barbeque in between doubles and singles along with lots of free GIVEAWAYS. If a pair of snazzy Duke Tennis sunglasses isn’t enough to entice you, we will also be raffling off 2 Men’s Basketball tickets for their game against Miami on Saturday March 2^nd. We look forward to seeing everyone out there!

GET LOUD & GO DUKE!!!!

 -Annie (and the rest of DWT)

Opportunities

Dearest Duke Tennis Fans,

Well, I’m proud to say that it has been yet another great weekend for DWT. As of 8pm last night, several hours later than originally scheduled, we officially qualified for National Indoors!!! As per the usual, Jamie presented us with a theme for the weekend—opportunity. Qualifying for National Indoors is a golden opportunity to compete against the top 16 teams in the country. That kind of experience, so early in our season, is invaluable as we get closer and closer to conference play and NCAAs. The more high-stakes matches we get under our belts the sharper and savvier we grow. Jamie stressed the importance of not just knocking on the door towards National Indoors but rather bursting through it and showing other teams just how dangerous we are. DWT had an opportunity this weekend and we took it with both hands!

Our win against Wyoming last night was not only an accomplishment for DWT but also marked an incredible milestone for our captain Mary Clayton! With her 6-4, 6-1 win, she entered the prestigious 100-Win Club that only 20 other Blue Devils are a member of. As if this accomplishment alone isn’t impressive enough, she achieved this goal in one semester less than everyone else having started at Duke in January. With our entire season still ahead of us I am confident that she will continue to add numerous other wins that will forever accompany her impressive legacy here at Duke!

Thanks again to everyone who came out this weekend and showed their support! We really appreciate and thrive off the energy you all bring! Next weekend we travel to the windy-city to take on the Northwestern Wildcats. DWT will be back at home Sunday February 17 against Florida—a much-desired rematch of last year’s NCAA Final Four matchup. We hope to see you all there!!!!! Have a great couple weeks, and GO DUKE J  

Yours truly,

Annie Mulholland and the rest of DWT 

P.E.P.

Dearest Duke Tennis Fans,

            I’m proud to say that our first home duel match of 2013 was a splendid success and a large part of that is credited to you guys! We truly have the best fans in the world and we couldn’t have done it without you. Coming off a long week marked by classes, jetlag and sicknesses, last night’s performance was a good baseline that we strive to build upon.  We started the day with a quick warm-up at 9:45 to get the blood flowing followed by a quick nap and study session. At about 1:30 we returned to the courts to cheer on the men’s team in their match against Elon. After that match finished we had a couple hours to relax during which time we blasted the songs that failed to make it onto our official warm-up CD—there’s nothing like a little Eminem and Macklemore to get us pumped up.

            Every match Jamie comes up with a little saying or quote to inspire us, and last night’s word was P.E.P, which stood for “purpose”, “energy”, and “passion”. He challenged us to have a purpose with every shot we hit, to play with a superior level of energy, and unbridled passion. Having played William & Mary during our season opener last year and several of their players during the fall tournaments, we knew that they would put up a fight and could give us a run for our money unless we played with discipline and P.E.P. Coming off a great week of team bonding in Hawaii the team unity out on the court was very evident and played a vital role in our success.

            Next weekend we host our first two rounds of qualifying for National Indoors during which time we hope to build upon this weekend’s success. We play our first round against Wisconsin on Saturday at 10am. Please come out to show your support for DWT and LET’S GET LOUD!!!!!!!

Yours truly,

Annie M. & the rest of DWT