On the way to the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament, Duke lost only two conference matchups. Those losses were to No. 1 Virginia and then-No. 19 North Carolina, and it is these two squads that lie in the Blue Devils’ path to the ACC championship.
With a first-round bye as one of the top four seeds, No. 13 Duke (18-8, 9-2 in the ACC) will begin its tournament play on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Cary Tennis Park against the winner of the match between Virginia Tech (13-10, 5-6) and N.C. State (10-13, 2-9). The Blue Devils comfortably defeated the Hokies 6-1 in Blacksburg, Va., and whitewashed the Wolfpack 7-0 at home earlier in the season.
“I like the way the draw is laid out,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “We’re healthy and playing some really good tennis, so I’m feeling very good about the tournament.”
If Duke again comes out on top, the Blue Devils will have the opportunity to avenge their regular season 4-3 loss against the Tar Heels in the semifinal, should North Carolina win its contest against the winner of the match between Wake Forest and Clemson.
“It certainly would be nice to get UNC again,” Smith said. “The guys are looking forward to that.”
In that April 13 meeting, the Blue Devils’ key players failed to perform as both Henrique Cunha and Reid Carleton lost against lower ranked opponents. Cunha, then-ranked sixth in the nation, lost only his second conference singles match to Jose Hernandez, then-ranked No. 25. Reid Carleton, then-ranked at No. 9, lost to an unranked player in what was arguably his worst performance of the season, losing heavily by scores of 6-1 in both sets.
“Since that match we’ve won two really good matches. I felt like we really got back on track,” Smith said. “We’ve been working hard on doubles, and that’s going to be a big point with all our matches. It’s also going to be at a neutral site as opposed to their place.”
However, the Tar Heels do not have the simplest path to the semifinals. Wake Forest, who upset North Carolina in last year’s tournament, has the opportunity to do so again. Smith described them as “dangerous,” and if the Demon Deacons should advance to meet Duke, it may set up an uncomfortable meeting between Carleton and his brother Tripper, who plays for Wake Forest.
“Hopefully it won’t happen,” Carleton said.
Should Duke advance to the final, unless there is an upset, the Blue Devils will face the nation’s top-ranked and undefeated Cavaliers. On their visit to Charlottesville, Va., on April 1, the Blue Devils fell 6-1 to Virginia, with Cunha the only Duke player to record a win.
“We didn’t want to play them before the final,” Smith said. “If we get that opportunity [to play them], I think we’re ready. We’ve played them close the last couple of years. I have a lot of confidence in this team and it should be an exciting match should we get there.”
Earlier this season, Duke showed its ability to perform in the pressure rounds of tournament play, defeating then-No. 2 Southern California and then-No. 11 Florida in February’s ITA National Team Indoors, before falling to then-No. 3 Tennessee. The experience from that weekend has helped the freshmen adapt to tournament play.
“It may be a little different if they [didn’t have] that experience at the national stage,” Smith said. “I don’t sense any real nerves outside of the normal nerves from the freshmen.”
Freshman Chris Mengel echoed his coach’s thoughts.
“I don’t really know what to expect,” Mengel said. “I’m going to try to do the same things that I’ve been doing in singles. As long as we play well I think we’ll be alright.”
Carleton, Duke’s senior captain, is ready to help guide his young teammates through his last ACC Tournament.
“I’m fired up,” Carleton said. “We’ve got a really good team, really good momentum and a really good chance of winning the tournament.”
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