Duke Men’s Tennis Faces Virginia and Virginia Tech on Road
DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 49 Duke men’s tennis team continues its ACC schedule with a weekend road trip, facing No. 2 Virginia on Friday at 3 p.m. And Virginia Tech on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Williams Finding His Groove in Singles
Cooper Williams has shown strong performance since moving to the second court, achieving a 3-0 record with two additional unfinished matches where he was leading. He secured his first ranked victory of the outdoor season last Friday at SMU, defeating No. 107 Alex Finkelstein 6-2, 6-2.
Dominating in Doubles
Williams and Pedro Rodenas have been successful in doubles play, winning both their matches last weekend to improve to 10-2 in dual competition. The duo, ranked No. 11 nationally, has won their last five matches, including a 6-4 triumph versus the No. 8 team of Alex Chang and Alex Razeghi from Stanford. They are 4-0 in ACC play. A Duke doubles team achieving 11 ACC wins in a season would enter the single-season top-10 chart. the current record is 11, set by Henrique Cunha and Raphael Hemmeler in 2013.
Rodenas Climbing the Record Charts
Pedro Rodenas is making strides in Duke’s career record charts for ACC competition. He has participated in 31 ACC doubles matches, three shy of the top-10 list, and his 26 league doubles wins are tied for sixth in Duke history. Cunha (2010-13) holds the Duke ACC doubles wins record with 35. In ACC singles play, Rodenas has taken part in 35 matches, five shy of cracking the Duke top-12 chart, with 27 league singles victories, just one short of a tie for ninth in program history. Fred Saba (2011-14) owns the Blue Devil record with 35 ACC singles wins. The Madrid, Spain native has 91 career wins, nine shy of becoming the 17th member of Duke’s 100-win club.
Last Time Out
The Blue Devils blanked Boston College 5-0. Duke won the doubles point on courts one (6-3) and three (6-2). In singles, Rodenas, Dylan Long, Gerard Planelles Ripoll, and Saahith Jayaraman earned straight-set wins to complete the sweep.
History with Virginia
Friday’s match marks the 104th between Duke and Virginia, with Duke holding a 53-50 edge. Last February in Durham, Duke ended a nine-match losing streak to the Cavaliers with a 5-2 victory. Rodenas and Williams are the only current Blue Devils who participated in that match. Rodenas clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory on court two, although Williams fell 6-2, 6-2 on the top court.
Scouting the Cavaliers
Virginia is 12-2 overall and 4-0 in ACC action, currently ranked No. 2 nationally. Dylan Dietrich is the No. 1 ranked singles player nationally with a 9-1 dual record, all on court one. Keegan Rice is close behind at No. 14, also with a 9-1 dual record (8-1 on court two, 1-0 on court one). Andres Santamarta Roig is No. 28 with an 8-2 dual mark, and Jangjun Kim is No. 84 with an 8-3 record. Virginia also boasts three ranked doubles teams: No. 3 Mans Dahlberg and Dietrich (12-0 overall), No. 9 Dietrich and Stiles Brockett (7-2 overall), and No. 37 Dahlberg and Kim (7-3 overall).
History with Virginia Tech
Duke and Virginia Tech have met 40 times, with the Blue Devils leading the series 33-6. Duke has won seven of the last nine meetings, after losses in 2015 and 2016. Last spring in Durham, the Blue Devils won 5-0.
Scouting the Hokies
Virginia Tech has a 4-8 overall record and a 1-3 ACC ledger. Ilyas Fahim has played exclusively on the top court, going 5-3. Patrik Jurina is 5-2 on court two, and Eyal Shumilov is 3-3 in the third slot. Blake Hilsen and Shumilov have teamed most often on court one in doubles, with a 2-4 record, while Fahim and Jurina are the regular No. 2 team with a 3-5 record.
Rankings Entering the Weekend
Duke is No. 49 as a team, with Williams (No. 62), Rodenas (No. 103), and Planelles Ripoll (No. 123) individually ranked. In doubles, Williams and Rodenas are No. 11.
Up Next
Duke returns home to host No. 55 Georgia Tech on Friday, March 20, at 3 p.m. Clemson, ranked No. 34, will follow on Sunday, March 22, at 12 p.m.