As the end of the year approaches, Duke enters a crucial stretch of its conference schedule. The Blue Devils will play two ACC opponents this weekend and aim to build on their victory over Wake Forest Wednesday.
No. 20 Duke (12-6, 5-1 in the ACC) will host No. 24 Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. Saturday and Clemson at 12 p.m. on Sunday, both at Ambler Tennis Stadium.
Duke will hope this weekend that its freshman phenom and four-time ACC Player of the Week Henrique Cunha continues his fine form in singles as well as doubles, where he is paired with junior Reid Carleton. Cunha has won his last ten singles matches, a run which includes a victory over the No. 1 collegiate player in the country, Steve Johnson, of Southern California.
Cunha’s doubles pairing with Carleton has been equally successful, with the duo claiming victory in their last 13 competitions. The Blue Devils are expecting that success in doubles Saturday, not only from the third-ranked pairing of Cunha and Carleton but also from at least another pair, having won the doubles point in their last eight matches.
“We want to continue our strong doubles play,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “It has been the focus of our season.”
Clemson (17-5, 3-4) should pose little threat compared to that of the Yellow Jackets (15-3, 6-1). The Tigers lost 7-0 to Georgia Tech on their trip to Atlanta March 31. On the other hand, the Yellow Jackets are also on an eight-match winning streak, a streak they aim to maintain.
However, Duke has also played good tennis, winning seven of its last eight contests, the sole loss being a close encounter against No. 1 Virginia last Sunday.
The Blue Devils will need to use the momentum gained in the win against Wake Forest as a springboard toward a strong finish to the season. The victory against the Demon Deacons showed the resilience of the team, as many players stepped up. Notably, Luke Marchese won the deciding singles match, Cunha saved four match points and Carleton came from a set down to give Duke the win.
“We just have to keep things rolling, and continue to work on our composure and our positive attitude out there,” Smith said. “We have no time to relax.”
The team currently sits third in the conference standings, a half-game behind Georgia Tech. A win against the Yellow Jackets this weekend would put them in a tie for second.
And with only five matches left in the ACC schedule, the Blue Devils know time is increasingly not on their side.
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