Many things come in pairs of two. For the Blue Devils this past weekend, it was back-to-back ACC wins.
On Sunday afternoon, No. 22 Duke triumphed over Notre Dame 4-2 in South Bend, Ind., to stay undefeated in ACC play and push its winning streak to four matches. In a similar turn of events, Duke won Friday’s match at No. 20 Louisville 4-2 in gripping fashion.
“We haven't had a whole lot of true road matches,” head coach Ramsey Smith said after Sunday’s win. “And I thought the team really, came together as a group, brought amazing energy, and the support of the guys not playing was great.”
Against the Fighting Irish, the Blue Devils started strong in doubles, winning all three matches. Yet, Notre Dame started off singles just as strong, with Sebastian Dominko winning 6-2, 6-3 against senior Garrett Johns on court one. However, the luck of the Irish ran out before long, leading to the Blue Devils (10-4, 3-0 in the ACC) winning on courts three, two and then five.
“[Notre Dame] was probably the quickest courts our guys played the entire year,” Smith said. “I think our guys just really, adapted extremely well. [I am] really pleased with where the team is right now at this part of the season.”
While the fight with the Fighting Irish (9-6, 0-2 in the ACC) was fast, the Blue Devils had a hard time winning their second sets across the singles matches against Louisville. Out of the six singles matches, all but one went into a third set. Yet, as Louisville rebounded in the second set, Duke regained its footing in the third set to clinch the match.
The week was a strong one for Duke freshman Pedro Rodenas, who was one of only two Blue Devil freshmen competing this weekend alongside Teddy Truwit. The Madrid native consistently dominated with captivating wins against Notre Dame’s Jean-Marc Malkowski (6-4, 6-3) and Cardinals’ Natan Rodrigues (6-4, 6-3).
“You never know how freshmen are going to handle the dual match environment. He really embraces the team environment, he loves playing for the team,” Smith said of Rodenas. “He’s only lost one dual match and he's won some really big ones. He's playing exceptional tennis, and I couldn't be more pleased with how he’s progressed since.”
On the flip side, senior captain Andrew Zhang had a rocky start, losing to Louisville’s Fabien Salle 7-6 (5), 1-6, 3-6 in a high-strung match. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich., native had a promising start but dropped the following two sets. The rough start progressed into doubles against Notre Dame, with the senior and his classmate Michael Heller losing in doubles 6-4. Yet, the captain bounced back Sunday with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 win against Notre Dame’s Matthew Che.
“He's improved every single year, he's grown as a leader. He's been our captain for the last two years. And he's really added different elements to his game each year,” Smith said of Zhang. “And now he's just honestly, he's like the perfect Duke student-athlete. It's just neat to see them have so much success this year, in doubles, and singles and collectively with a team.”
While the Blue Devils are undefeated in the ACC so far, they will take a break for the upcoming week. Duke will take on Virginia Tech and Virginia in Blacksburg, Va., March 17 and in Charlottesville, Va., March 19, respectively.
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