The powerhouse Virginia Cavaliers, which handily beat Duke twice before this year, again overwhelmed the Blue Devils, this time in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16. Duke, a 16-seed, fell 4-0 Friday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, and, for the first time all year, the Blue Devils failed to win a single matchup.
“I thought Virginia played a great match,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “Virginia is more experienced and has been in this position before.”
In doubles play, the top-ranked team in the country, freshman Henrique Cunha and junior Reid Carleton, failed to complete their match, tying the first game 8-8 against Virginia’s Drew Courtney and Michael Shabaz, leaving the match unfinished after senior Dylan Arnould and sophomore David Holland lost 8-6 and junior Alain Michel and sophomore Torsten Wietoska lost 8-3 in their respective matches.
After taking the doubles point, the Cavaliers didn’t let up in singles play, with Jarmere Jenkins, Courtney and Houston Barrick all defeating Blue Devils in straight sets. Cunha was the only Duke player to win a single set in the match. His impressive steak of 20 consecutive wins against No. 1 opponents, though, came to an end, with an unfinished match against Shabaz. Cunha lost the first set 6-1—only the second time all season he lost a set by five or more games—then bounced back with a 7-5 win in the second. But by then, the Cavaliers’ blowout win was locked up, and the ACC Player of the Year’s streak was over.
Although the team’s season ended Friday, Cunha and Carleton are not quite done, with both currently competing in the NCAA Individual Championships. In the tournament, which began Wednesday, Cunha sits as the No. 1 individual seed, while he and Carleton sport the No. 1 doubles seed as well.
—from staff reports
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