Fifth-ranked Ludovic Walter lost his third-set tiebreaker against No. 21 Arnaud Lecloerec Wednesday, giving Virginia Commonwealth the decisive point in its match against Duke.
The No. 15 Rams (18-4) upset the No. 4 Blue Devils (11-4), 4-3, in the first of six straight road matches for Duke.
With the team score tied, 3-3, the first flight singles match decided the outcome. Walter won the first set in a tiebreak, but faltered some in the second, losing 6-3. His third dual match loss of the season came when he lost the decisive tiebreak 7-3.
The Blue Devils earned the doubles point when Joey Atas and Jonathan Stokke narrowly defeated their VCU foes in a tiebreaker.
Duke had a 3-0 advantage after the first two singles matches had been decided, but then dropped the next four to surrender the match.
Stokke and Peter Rodrigues, ranked 37th and 62nd, respectively, were the only two Blue Devils to win their singles matches. Duke had one-set advantages in two other matches before losing them.
It was the Blue Devils' first loss to a team ranked outside of the top 10.
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