Ludovic Walter faced and defeated Yale's Brandon Wai Thursday. Today in the consolation bracket, it's teammate Jonathan Stokke's turn.
In the first round of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at Ohio State, Walter downed Wai in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, to advance to tomorrow's round of 16.
"He played a really good match today," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "He was aggressive and played with a lot of confidence. He played one of the better matches he's played this fall."
The victory was the 101st of Walter's career, which places him in a tie with Doug Root for 8th place on the all-time Duke win list.
In other action, Stokke lost a close match against sixth-seeded Luke Shields of Boise State, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Stokke had a chance to control the match in the third set. Already up 3-1, Stokke had Shields on the ropes when he led 0-40 with a chance at a second break. But Shields rallied to win the game and eventually the match.
"The kid who he played was really good," Lapidus said. "I think it was certainly a tough match for Jonathan. I don't think you can take anything negative for that result."
While Walter advances to the next round to play Jerry Makowski of Texas A&M, Stokke moves into the consolation bracket to play Wai.
"It's kind of weird that both of our guys play a Yale guy in the same weekend," Lapidus said.
Walter defeated Makowski when Duke faced the Aggies in a dual match last March. Both are ranked in the nation's top 10.
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