After surviving a challenging regular season that included matches against 11 opponents ranked in the nation's top 20, Duke will begin its defense of the ACC tournament crown it won last year.
The No. 13 and third-seeded Blue Devils (15-8, 8-3 in the ACC) will open play against the sixth-seeded Florida State Seminoles at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon in Cary, N.C.
This season was expected to be a bit of a rebuilding year for Duke, as four key members of last year's team were lost to graduation. This year's seniors, however, have played an important part in keeping a young team in the top 25 for the entire season and earning a first-round bye for the weekend.
"[Joey Atas and Peter Rodrigues] have given a lot to the program both this year and throughout their tenure at Duke," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "They have both stepped up and done an amazing job leadership-wise."
Friday's match against the No. 25 Seminoles (14-8, 6-5) is a rematch of March 30, when the Blue Devils defeated FSU at Ambler Tennis Stadium 5-2. The Seminoles caused plenty of trouble for Duke, as Rodrigues was beaten in straight sets and three of the Blue Devils' singles victories were extremely close.
"FSU is a really good team that has upset other teams, so they are actually a very tough first round match," Atas said. "We are really not looking beyond Friday."
If the Blue Devils were to advance to the weekend, the draw looks favorable. The Blue Devils' three ACC losses this season were to Virginia, Wake Forest, and Clemson, and all three were all placed on the other side of the tournament bracket.
"No matter who we play on our way to the finals, there is no kidding around," Lapidus said. "We are ranked 13 now, and if we do well here we could be back in the top 10, so we're as ready as we're ever going to be."
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