Duke men’s tennis competed in the 2024 NCAA Division I Singles and Doubles Championships this week at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas.
During the fall season, The Chronicle is polling its readers every week via its Sportswrap newsletter to highlight one Blue Devil athlete’s outstanding performance. This week’s spotlight goes to Cooper Williams of Duke men’s tennis.
High-profile transfer Cooper Williams qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship after winning three straight-set matches. Then Williams teamed up with Theo Winegar, the Blue Devils’ doubles-specialist and transfer from Columbia, and won the doubles bracket to earn a bid as a pair.
At the ITA Regional Championships in Cary, N.C., the Blue Devils faced some of the best players from the region to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships in November. Junior Pedro Rodenas — the No. 2 seed — did just that, working through a tough singles draw to advance to the finals for the best result of his season.
Head coach Ramsey Smith reloaded in the transfer portal with a large, experienced and talented class.
Duke men's tennis had another strong season, reaching the Round of 16 in the NCAA tournament and garnering plenty of individual accolades. The Chronicle's beats round up the season and recap the best moments.
They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details — and numbers.
As commencement exercises began on Duke’s campus, the tennis crew left Durham to take on TCU.The Blue Devils fell to the Horned Frogs in a hasty 4-0 loss to conclude the season for the team and run for the NCAA title.
As the Blue Devils set their sights on further aspirations, the talent on the court is only outmatched by the genuine bonds of brotherhood surrounding this team.
The Blue Devils dominated UNC Asheville 4-0 and Alabama 4-1 in the first two rounds of the NCAA Team Championship. Head coach Ramsey Smith’s team advances to take on TCU in the Super Regionals for only the second time since 2015.
In an ACC tournament semifinal matchup against No. 1-seed Virginia Saturday, the fourth-seeded Blue Devils looked to avenge last season’s ACC and NCAA tournament losses to the Cavaliers. But a hard-fought effort that began by taking the doubles points fell short with an eventual 4-1 loss.
The Blue Devils started off strong Friday with a dominant 4-1 victory against No. 7 Wake Forest, before falling to No. 16 NC State by a score of 4-2 Sunday.
After taking the doubles point, the 17th-ranked Blue Devils won four of the six singles matches, clinching the 5-2 victory.
Duke beat the Fighting Irish 5-2, and its dominance began with its doubles play: The Blue Devils took the lead from the start and did not look back.
The Cavaliers once again proved to be an Achilles’ heel, besting the home squad 6-1 in a hard-fought match Sunday afternoon, just two days after Duke took down Virginia Tech.
On a rainy Friday afternoon, Duke defeated Clemson in a narrow 4-3 match, decided by a grueling three-set battle on court 1. Two days later, the Blue Devils faced off against Georgia Tech, falling in a decisive 6-1 loss.
An extremely difficult nonconference slate concluded for No. 13 Duke with a trip to Cambridge, Mass., to compete against two local schools.
An impressive Duke squad headed into the weekend undefeated, but they had yet to be tested on the road. After two tough matches, they took the long trip home, no longer as an undefeated team.
Duke continued its impressive start to the new season with back-to-back 4-0 wins against No. 23 N.C. State and Middle Tennessee during the ITA Kickoff Weekend. With these dominant victories, the Blue Devils moved on to the National Team Indoor Champions in New York for the first time since 2018.
After a historic 22-7 season featuring a trip to both the ACC championship and the Sweet 16 — losing to eventual national champion Virginia in both — Duke is primed for another deep postseason run. The eighth-ranked team by ITA has the majority of its squad returning, including the entire starting singles lineup.
