The men's tennis team will start off it's first weekend of the 2004 regular season in Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center with a full calendar. The eighth-ranked Blue Devils will host No. 41 William & Mary Thursday, No. 9 Texas A&M Saturday, and No. 49 Notre Dame in a weekend that looks to be a good early test of the team.
After strong individual performances in the fall and early winter, Duke will embark on its team-oriented season. Returning senior and three-time All-American Phillip King will be playing for the first time this year after taking time off due to a wrist injury.
"[King] is certainly one of our franchise players, he's up to the task," head coach Jay Lapidus said.
In his absence, sophomore Ludovic Walter has taken the stage as the centerpiece of the team. Walter is ranked seventh in singles competition and second in doubles with partner Jason Zimmermann. In November the duo was crowned ITA National Indoor Doubles Champion and has recently shared the spotlight with teammates Peter Rodrigues and Jonathan Stokke, who captured the doubles crown at the ACC Indoor Championships earlier this month.
"William & Mary is very good, they're not a team to look past," Lapidus said. "There will be no easy matches."
Duke will certainly be taking its matches one at a time. The Tribe have already recorded an upset in January over then-No. 30 San Diego State. William & Mary's biggest threat is 26th-ranked singles player Jeff Kader, who, last fall, beat the fourth-ranked singles player in the country.
The most competitive match this weekend will likely be against Texas A&M. The Aggies are coming off a close loss to defending national champion Illinois. Texas A&M's players were dominant, winning the top-three singles matches and top doubles match. A&M will look to do the same against the Blue Devils. The Aggies boast the highest ranked doubles team in the country of Lester Cook and Ante Matijevic, who will matchup against Duke's most prolific duo in the battle for the No. 1 doubles spot in the nation. Cook, No. 17, and Matijevic, No. 19, will also compete in singles. A couple of thrilling matches should come from pairing the two against Ludovic and King in singles play.
"We will have to play well to stay with them," Lapidus said.
Duke will close out the long weekend against Notre Dame Sunday. The Fighting Irish lost to the Aggies last week, but have since rebounded with two consecutive victories. The Blue Devils cannot take any match for granted against the deep Notre Dame team. Each of the three teams Duke faces is deep and will pose a challenge, but the weekend should be a good gauge for where the team stands.
"We're strong and deep, I think we can compete with anyone," Lapidus said.
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