After their first conference loss against top-ranked Virginia last weekend, the No. 11 Blue Devils (16-7, 7-1 in the ACC) knew that they needed two wins against ACC rivals Georgia Tech and Clemson to stay near the top of the league’s standings.
Duke did just that, putting in two strong performances against the Yellow Jackets and Tigers, winning 6-1 and 7-0, respectively.
“It was a very successful weekend,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “Anytime you go on the road in the ACC it is pretty tough. We did a good job of taking care of business.”
The weekend started off brightly with Blue Devils taking a dominant victory against the No. 18 Yellow Jackets (16-3, 7-2) who had also only dropped one ACC contest before the match.
Duke’s spirited tennis highlighted the first contest. As a team, the Blue Devils claimed all five tie-breakers which were played, including the tie-breaker that clinched the doubles point.
“Even though the score was 6-1, it was much closer than that,” Smith said.
Duke’s lone loss was at the number one singles position, in which Georgia Tech’s No. 16 Guillermo Gomez handed No. 6 Henrique Cunha his first career loss in conference play. The sophomore would soon avenge the loss, though.
Against Clemson (15-9, 2-7) the Blue Devils continued building on their momentum, with easy doubles victories of 8-2 and 8-1. Following the dominant doubles display, all six of Duke’s players took the first set in singles, in a show of why the Blue Devils sit near near the top of the ACC standing—while the Tigers languish near the bottom.
“We did a good job of not underestimating Clemson,” Smith said. “We showed a lot of energy and intensity.”
Returning to form, Cunha bounced back from his first conference loss with style, easily dispatching Derek DiFazio 6-3, 6-2.
“[Henrique] doesn’t get a lot of chances to bounce back as he doesn’t lose too many matches,” Smith said. “He wasn’t 100% physically against Georgia Tech and Gomez is a great player. He rested yesterday and I was very impressed by his will to get out there and get the ‘W’ today.”
The tie was soon wrapped up as freshman Fred Saba continued his strong rookie season with a solid 6-3, 6-4 victory at the number four spot and Torsten Wietoska eased past Gerardo Meza with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
Wietoska, who recently returned from a six-month absence after suffering a sports hernia, boosted the Blue Devils’ lineup by giving his teammates much needed rest, as Duke was able to field a different roster in each match this weekend.
Regaining momentum, the Blue Devils will play their last road game of the year at North Carolina Wednesday before finishing their conference schedule next weekend.
“The UNC match is a… a big deal for us and for the community,” Smith said. “Both teams are in the top 20 and playing well… but it’s the whole week really, not just UNC. We also need to take care of Miami and Florida State next weekend.”
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