Playing in its first home match of the season, the No. 18 men's tennis team was able to upset seventh-ranked Kentucky in a relatively effortless fashion. The match, held Tuesday at the Duke Tennis Stadium, was not even played to completion as the Blue Devils swept all the necessary matches to pull through with the victory.
"I'm really excited about beating a team like [Kentucky]," Duke coach Jay Lapidus said. "They're ranked ahead of us and beat number-one ranked Stanford. I didn't know how we'd handle that."
The match began with victories in the doubles matches. Freshman Doug Root and sophomore Jordan Wile, ranked the fourth-best doubles team in the nation, combined to win 8-6 over Cedric Kaufman and Ludwig Sundin at the number one spot.
"Doug and Jordan have been really unbelievable," Lapidus said. "They really seem to be pulling through for us and winning everything."
Complementing Root and Wile's play were senior Adam Gusky and freshman Porter Jones, who edged Carlos Drada and Marcus Fluitt of Kentucky, 9-7, at second doubles. Duke finished off the doubles matches with an 8-6 win by Alberto Brause and Sebastien Gobbi at number three doubles.
"I was excited at how Alberto and Sebastien played," Lapidus said. "I had just put the team together two days ago and they worked great."
In the singles action, the Blue Devils received yet another victory from Gusky. The No. 3 singles player defeated Ludwig Sundin of Kentucky, 6-4, 6-4, despite Sundin's elevated ranking. Now ranked 24th in the nation, Sundin spent numerous weeks at the No. 4 spot.
"Adam truly responds no matter where we put him-he just keeps coming through with wins," Lapidus said. "If I was smart, I'd put him as number one and have him win for us."
Fourth singles player Wile won his match 7-6, 6-2, conquering the first set tie-breaker. An effortlessly played second set produced the victory.
Gobbi netted the final win for the Blue Devils, winning 6-2, 6-3.
The remaining singles matches were not played to completion, most suspended midway through the match after Duke had sealed the victory. Nevertheless, Brause, Jones and 34th-ranked Doug Root turned out stellar performances.
"I was happy with the way we looked up and down in all the matches, even the ones suspended," Lapidus said. "To play a team of that level with all our injuries is incredible."
The Blue Devils scored the win despite being plagued with injuries of late. Both sophomore Dmitry Muzyka and senior Sven Koehler had to sit out Tuesday's competition. Fortunately for the Blue Devils, the absence of two of their top players was not a key issue in Tuesday's match.
"We thought it would be tough with two of our players out with injuries, but the team just didn't seem to get discouraged," Lapidus said. "The guys just stepped up their level and came through for us."
The status of both Muzyka and Koehler is still questionable but should be announced soon. Koehler, out with a wrist injury, is scheduled to have an MRI today to determine the exact date of his return. Muzyka is hoping to hit the courts again in a couple of weeks.
Even in the absence of Muzyka and Koehler, the team should continue to do well if the match against Kentucky was any indicator. The Blue Devils will open their Atlantic Coast Conference season with a 1 p.m. match against Maryland on Saturday.
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