No. 5 Duke edged past No. 25 N.C. State, 4-3, in the ACC opener for both teams in Raleigh Wednesday by taking the doubles point early on and then splitting the singles matches.
The Blue Devils (7-2, 1-0 in the ACC) swept the doubles competition in all three spots, handing the Wolfpack (14-2, 0-1) only their third doubles-point loss of the season.
Senior Stephen Amritraj and junior Peter Rodrigues took control of the No. 2 spot with an 8-3 win. The pair at the third position, senior Ludovic Walter and sophomore Ned Samuelson, followed in their teammates' footsteps with a strong 8-4 performance, clinching the doubles point.
"Our doubles is definitely looking a lot better," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "We came together at the National Indoors in Seattle and really found our combination. I'm really pleased."
The Blue Devils could not carry their momentum into singles competition, however, immediately dropping the first two matches in straight sets to go down 2-1.
No. 59 Peter Rodrigues, who has recently struggled, lost 6-3, 6-4.
"Normally Peter's a really good starter in matches," Lapidus said. "Today he just didn't start as well as he normally does."
The day was saved, however, with another crushing performance from Walter, who is the fifth-ranked singles player in the nation. The senior won in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 over No. 64 Nick Cavaday, tallying his 113th career match win.
The Blue Devils received two come-from-behind wins from freshman Kiril Dimitrov and No. 22 Jonathon Stokke. Stokke, a junior, won 6-3 in the deciding third set to grab the team's fourth point and clinch the win over N.C. State.
After dropping the second set 6-1, Dimitrov took the final set 6-4.
"Momentum wasn't with Kiril in the third set," Lapidus said. "He was down 2-3, and elevated his game 10 to 15 percent. He seems to be able to raise his game when he needs to, a sign of a great player."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.