After taking down two top-25 opponents at home, the Blue Devils will head to Illinois to face their biggest test yet.
No. 11 Duke had a strong showing in the ITA season Kick-Off weekend with wins against both of its opponents, No. 18 Wake Forest and No. 23 Memphis. The Blue Devils hope to have a second consecutive two-win weekend, when they take on No. 8 Illinois and Northwestern this weekend in Illinois.
Duke defeated Wake Forest by a score of 4-1, and then proceeded to sweep Memphis 4-0, and win their ITA Kick-Off group, which featured Duke and the two aforementioned opponents, as well as Clemson.
“[The ITA] is basically the second NCAA Championship,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “It is the indoor version of the tournament that we are going to play in May, so it is one of the two biggest tournaments that we play in the spring, and our goal is always to reach the final 16. [Winning our ITA group] really set the tone from a confidence and beliefs standpoint, and [our team] is feeling good moving forward.”
Leading Duke into the Land of Lincoln will be freshman Nicolas Alvarez, who is currently ranked No. 18 in the country and was named ACC Player of the Week for his singles performances against No. 12 Romain Bogaerts of Wake Forest and No. 23 Andrew Watson of Memphis. He also notched a win against Jerry Lopez of Kentucky.
“[Alvarez’s honor] is well deserved,” Smith said. “In all three of our matches, playing doubles and singles, he was big for us. It was not just the type of wins, but also how they helped us in the dual match.... When you look at our schedule, and the type of teams in the ACC, it becomes apparent that winning [this award] is no easy feat, and, for a freshman, like Alvarez, it is especially impressive.”
Duke will first play at Illinois in Urbana, Ill., at Atkins Tennis Center at 7 p.m. Friday. The Fighting Illini are off to a 3-0 start in dual match play, and have not lost a match at home since a 4-3 defeat against Ohio State April 12, 2013.
“[Illinois] plays well at home, but we have already won a big road match [against Kentucky," Smith said. "I do not think that playing on the road will be a huge challenge for us. We’ve handled being on the road well."
Illinois’ roster boasts three ranked players—junior All-American No. 31 Jared Hiltzik, freshman No. 44 Aleks Vukic and freshman No. 62 Aron Hiltzik. Senior All-American and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Farris Gosea will most likely be playing No. 1 singles. Gosea’s sole loss of the season came against No. 5 Julian Lenz of Baylor, a match which the Fighting Illini won by a score of 4-3.
After playing Illinois Friday, the Blue Devils will travel to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern at the Combe Tennis Center. The Wildcats (2-2) have wins at then-No. 19 Vanderbilt and Arkansas and losses against N.C. State and No. 2 Oklahoma. Sophomore Sam Shropshire will most likely be playing No. 1 singles for the Wildcats, with Strong Kirchheimer—a Cary, N.C., native—most likely taking the court at No. 3 singles for the Wildcats.
“Northwestern is a very good, young team,” Smith said, “They’re a new team for us on our schedule. Even the matches they have lost this year, they have really pushed the teams that they have played. We are going to take every thing one match at a time, and prepare for them just like we are for Illinois.”
Duke flew directly to Chicago-Midway Airport Thursday afternoon and drove two hours to Urbana. The Blue Devils will play Illinois Friday, then drive back to Chicago Saturday morning to take on Northwestern Sunday at noon.
“[Winning these two matches] would certainly be big,” Smith said. “We have done enough early on this season to really make a statement, and I think it is going to be a great challenge, especially at Illinois. A loss against a team like Illinois is not going to hurt you, but wins can help a lot, and we just have to go in with a great attitude.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Jacob Weiss is a Trinity senior. His column, "not jumping to any conclusions," runs on alternate Fridays.