Humility has its virtues.
As the men's tennis team heads into the National Team Indoor Tournament this weekend, it will be remembering its humbling defeat to Notre Dame last weekend-the Blue Devils want to make sure that they don't have a repeat performance.
"It's hard to look at any loss as a positive," coach Jay Lapidus said. "But maybe this will be a motivator."
No. 8 Duke will face No. 9 Kansas in its first round of action on Thursday in Louisville, Ky. The Blue Devils faced Kansas twice last year, winning one match and losing the other. Both matches were very close, however.
"Notre Dame was a wakeup call," freshman Doug Root said. "We're playing the top teams in the country, and we have a good chance to redeem ourselves after our loss."
The Blue Devils are going to have to play smart tennis if they want to be able to defeat Kansas. Though ranked No. 9 in the nation, Kansas is No. 1 in region five of men's Division I tennis. Enrique Abaroa, Kansas' No. 1 player, is ranked eleventh in the nation. The doubles teams of Abaroa and Xavier Avila and Luis Uribe and Fernando Sierra should challenge Duke's doubles tandems.
Eight players will be making the trip to Louisville for the Blue Devils: freshmen Porter Jones and Doug Root, sophomores Dmitry Muzyka and Jordan Wile, juniors Alberto Brause and Ramin Pejan and seniors Sven Koehler and Adam Gusky. Muzyka was the 1996 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, and Lapidus feels that Koehler and Muzyka may well be one of the top doubles teams in the country. Strong showings by the freshmen give the Blue Devils an added edge as well.
Though the Blue Devils lost to Notre Dame, they feel that it was a good warmup which will help them get their edge back. While he hates to make excuses for losses, Lapidus feels that lack of practice did hurt Duke in its last match. Because of the weather and lack of indoor facilities, the Blue Devils have had limited practice time all spring. Duke will have to adjust to playing indoors this weekend.
Historically, the Blue Devils have not performed well at the National Team Indoor Tournament. Lapidus attributes this to Duke being complacent with preseason wins. The Blue Devils are coming off a loss this year though, so the outcome may be different.
"We'll come out hungry," Lapidus said.
The National Team Indoor Tournament provides the Blue Devils with a preview for the NCAA Tournament. Having one match under its belt, Duke feels it is ready to dive into this competitive field.
"We'll see where we stack up against the competition," Lapidus said. "If we do well here, it will wipe out a loss to Notre Dame."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.