Duke will look to build on the momentum of two straight conference road wins as it returns home to face Virginia Friday afternoon.
The No. 3 Cavaliers (13-1, 3-0 in the ACC) have beaten the Blue Devils in the teams’ past eight meetings, and No. 6 Duke (13-2, 2-0) will have to overcome a very talented Cavalier squad to end that streak. Virginia boasts four players ranked in the ITA top 100 nationally, including No. 1 Mitchell Frank and No. 7 Jarmere Jenkins.
By contrast, Duke features only two ranked individual players. To beat the Cavaliers, the Blue Devils will need big performances from No. 3 Henrique Cunha and No. 18 Chris Mengel, each of whom has won his past three matches. Cunha was recently named the ACC player of the week for the seventh time this season.
Both Duke and Virginia have fared well this season against teams in the top 25, and neither has lost to a team currently ranked outside the top ten. The Blue Devils’ two losses came to No. 1 Southern California and then-No. 15 Pepperdine, who has since risen to No. 8 in the country. Virginia’s only defeat came at the hands of then-No. 3 Ohio State.
Following its match against the Cavaliers, Duke will face off against Virginia Tech Sunday. The Hokies (6-6, 2-1) have lost their past two matches.
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