L.A. Strings Tie Up Dukes Again; Newport Beach Falls to Last Place

For the second consecutive night, the Los Angeles Strings defeated the Newport Beach Dukes in a Team Tennis match.

Friday at the Forum, the Strings’ victory kept the Dukes out of a tie for first place in the West Division. Saturday in front of 1,403 at the John Wayne Tennis Club, the Strings (8-1) won, 25-24, and knocked the Dukes (6-4) into last place in the division.

Ahead of the Dukes in the four-team division are the Stings, Sacramento Capitals (7-3) and San Antonio Racquets (6-3). A week remains in the regular season and only three teams from the division will make the playoffs.

The Dukes almost pulled out the victory Saturday, but Roger Smith and Marty Davis lost to John Lloyd and Larry Stefanki in the final set.

The pair had rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie the set, 4-4, but with Davis serving at 40-30, the Dukes lost the game to go down, 5-4. Stefanki then served out the set and match without losing a point.

The Dukes won three of the first four sets to take a 20-19 lead. Smith’s victory over Stefanki in men’s singles put the Dukes ahead. Smith won, 6-5, by winning the tiebreaker, 5-4, with an ace on the final point.

But it was the play of Amy Frazier early in the match that kept the Dukes in contention in the late going.

Frazier struggled in the early games of her set against Robin White. Frazier, who entered the match with the second-best women’s singles record in Team Tennis, had difficulty with her forehand and her first serves and fell behind, 4-1.

But Frazier, a committed baseline player, turned it around by going to the net more times than she has all season, Dukes Coach Greg Patton said.

“Amy just graduated from high school, but she thinks like a Ph.D. Her forehand was shaky so she went to the net,” Patton said.

After White held serve to go ahead, 4-1, Frazier won five consecutive games.

To open the match, the Dukes’ women’s doubles team of Frazier and Sophie Amiach opened the match by defeating Robin White and Anne White, 6-4. White and White, Team Tennis’ top-ranked women’s doubles team, had defeated Frazier and Amiach, 6-3, Friday at the Forum, but the Dukes, ranked third, took control midway through the set, breaking Robin White to go ahead, 5-3. Although the Strings broke back, winning Amiach’s serve at love, the Dukes then won the set by rallying from a love-40 deficit. Frazier closed out the game and set with a forehand return that handcuffed Robin White at the net.