Blue Devils Battle to Sweet 16

Duke stood in an all too familiar place, locked in a battle with its archrival North Carolina for the second time in just over a month.

The Blue Devils prevailed again—and this time, they didn't even need any heroics from Reid Carleton. 16-seeded Duke beat the Tar Heels 4-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to gain its first berth in the Sweet 16 since 2006.

The Blue Devils got to the second round by dismantling VCU 4-0 Friday. Duke won the doubles point easily and got victories from the one, two and four singles spots.

“Very clean efficient match," head coach Ramsey Smith said. "A perfect first match of the tournament.”

North Carolina proved to be a tougher test. Winning the doubles point against the formidable Tar Heels proved to be the most important factor in the match.

“I think the doubles was the key today for sure,” Smith said. “They are extremely strong in doubles and the last time we lost the doubles point we barely squeaked out four singles matches. So we knew if we could win the doubles point we would be in good position. It was one of our better doubles points and all three teams played exceptionally well.”

In the doubles, the number-one ranked doubles team in the country, Henrique Cunha and Reid Carleton, won 8-4 while Torsten Wietoska and Dylan Arnould won 8-5, giving the Blue Devils the early lead. However, singles play was a completely different story with Duke down a set in four of its first six matches.

Close match experience and mental toughness, according to Smith, helped the Blue Devils to ultimately prevail.