It wouldn’t seem that winter weather would be grounds to cancel indoor tennis, but while snow doesn’t fall on the courts, it does fall on airports. One of the worst winter storms in recent memory left No. 14 Duke (5-0) unable to travel to its planned Friday matchup against No. 16 Illinois (2-1).
The match has been tentatively rescheduled for Monday afternoon. The Blue Devils’ battle against the Illini will now take place a day after Duke faces Notre Dame (2-2) in South Bend, Ind.
Head coach Ramsey Smith hasn’t had much time to focus on the match as he’s tried to concentrate on getting his team to the snowy Midwest.
“We’re looking to get there first,” the coach said.
He did emphasize, however, that his team is ready to play on either a normal or delayed schedule.
“We’re prepared for two very tough matches,” Smith said. “They’re both very aggressive in doubles. Singles-wise, there’s no real holes in their lineup. I feel like most of the teams we’ve played so far are a little bit weaker in certain areas, and I think both the teams are pretty solid one through six.”
He added that he believes the Illini are “much better than they were last year.”
It’s significant that Illinois might have improved since last season, since the then-12th-ranked Illini took down Duke 5-2 in Durham last year.
This year’s version of Illinois should indeed prove dangerous. Its one loss was on the road to Virginia, the No. 1 team in collegiate tennis. Moreover, 11th-ranked Dennis Nevolo and No. 111 Johnny Hamui were named athletes of the week for the entire Big Ten on Feb. 1 and Jan. 18, respectively.
Smith also said Illinois does a good job drawing crowds, and the Blue Devils know how important a raucous home crowd can be.
“I really think having a couple hundred people going crazy here was a huge part of winning the doubles point [last week],” he said.
Notre Dame, though not ranked as high as Illinois, is still a dangerous opponent. The Fighting Irish fell to the Illini Jan. 29, but won the doubles point and won five out of six first sets in singles competition before eventually dropping the match 4-1. Notre Dame’s other loss has also come to the country’s top-ranked Virginia squad.
“I think they’re definitely a top-25 team,” Smith said.
Fortunately the matches will be played indoors, but not until Smith’s squad finds a way to get there.
NOTES: Sophomore Henrique Cunha was named the ACC player of the week Tuesday, Feb. 1. This marks the seventh time Cunha has won the award, and the first time he has won it this season.
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