DURHAM, N.C. - The ninth-ranked Duke women's tennis team got off to a stellar start in NCAA Tournament play on Friday as the Blue Devils defeated Temple, 4-0, in first round action at Ambler Stadium.

Doubles play saw Duke go ahead 1-0 on victories at No. 1 and No. 3. The freshman duo of Ellah Nze and Reka Zsilinszka posted an 8-0 win over Lucie Pazderova and Theresa Stangl at the No. 3 spot before the seventh-ranked Blue Devil tandem of sophomore Amanda Granson and junior Melissa Mang defeated Anastasiia Rukavyshnykova and Christine Clermont, 8-2, at the top doubles position to clinch the initial point.

Zsilinszka, ranked 24th in the country, put the Blue Devils ahead by a 2-0 score with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Pazderova at the No. 3 slot.
Mang then raced past Clermont, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 4 to push Duke's lead to 3-0 before Granson clinched the victory with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Rukavyshnykova at the No. 4 position.

"We played well," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth. "It is hard because we haven't played in two and a half weeks now. I was just curious of how we would fare hitting balls in pressure situations. I am happy with how we did that but our doubles have to be better tomorrow no matter who we play. Our singles picked up right where we left off. We have played good singles all year."

With the win, the Blue Devils improve to 19-4 on the year while Temple ends its season with a mark of 16-5.

"It was good to see us play that well in singles after coming off such a tough ACC championship loss," said Ashworth. "It gives us some of that confidence back. Everyone is confident in our singles and they believe that no matter who we play we can win all six matches. I would like to see that mindset in our doubles tomorrow."

Duke will take on the winner of today's first round match between William & Mary and N.C. State on Saturday, May 10 at 11 a.m. at Ambler Stadium.

2008 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship - First Round - Match-by-Match Results

No. 9 Duke 4, Temple 0

Singles

1. #125 Tara Iyer (DU) vs. Dina Senkina (TEM) 6-1, 5-1, dnf
2. #21 Ellah Nze (DU) vs. Elyse Steiner (TEM) 6-2, 4-1, dnf
3. #24 Reka Zsilinszka (DU) def. Lucie Pazderova (TEM) 6-1, 6-0
4. Melissa Mang (DU) def. Christine Clermont (TEM) 6-1, 6-1
5. Amanda Granson (DU) def. Anastasiia Rukavyshnykova (TEM) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jessi Robinson (DU) vs. Felicia Frazier (TEM) 6-0, 4-1, dnf

Order of finish: 3,4,5*

Doubles

1. #7 Granson/Mang (DU) def. Rukavyshnykova/Clermont (TEM) 8-2
2. Robinson/Iyer (DU) vs. Senkina/Steiner (TEM) 4-4, dnf
3. Nze/Zsilinszka (DU) def. Pazderova/Theresa Stangl (TEM) 8-0

Order of finish: 3,1*