The men's tennis team once again proved that it is worthy of its No. 4 national ranking this past weekend. The Blue Devils pulled out three outstanding wins over some of the nation's top teams before finally falling in the finals of the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
Duke defeated Alabama 6-1, Notre Dame 4-3 and Miami 4-3 to reach the finals. Texas handed the Blue Devils a 5-2 loss on Sunday.
The first match found the Blue Devils pitted against No. 26 Alabama. Duke started off strong as it took all the doubles matches from the Crimson Tide.
"[Alabama] is a good team," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "We were able to establish ourselves in doubles. Although the singles matches were close, it was one of the few comfortable wins we've had this year."
Leading the singles attack was junior Chris Pressley. He split sets with his opponent at No. 1 singles but then pounded him in the third set to take the victory, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0.
Following up with wins down the singles lineup were sophomores Peter Ayers and Rob Chess. Both pulled out wins in the third set. Freshman Adam Gusky made quick work of Alabama's Layman, 7-6, 6-4. Sophomore Jordan Murray dropped the only match of the day, while junior Philippe Moggio easily picked up a win at the No. 6 singles slot.
No. 16 Notre Dame presented the next challenge for the Blue Devils. The team continued its fine play in doubles but faced stiff competition on the singles side. Pressley clinched the match for the Blue Devils as he stormed back from dropping the first set to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
"Chris really pulled us through," Lapidus said. "The singles were a dogfight all the way. [Zurcher], his opponent, was playing well and the courts were slick near the end. But Chris just turned it up a notch and got the win."
Chess and Gusky picked up the only other wins for Duke against Notre Dame.
The semifinal matchup found the Blue Devils seeking revenge. No. 12 Miami was the only team that defeated Duke over its spring break trip, and the team was pumped up to face the Hurricanes once again.
"The Miami match was really an exciting one," Lapidus said. "The doubles were super and in the singles we saw a lot of the same matchups. All the matches were so close, but Chris pulled us through again."
After the Blue Devils took the doubles, Duke struggled with the Hurricanes in singles. Ayers, Chess and Murray fell at Nos. 2, 3 and 5, respectively, but Gusky solidly defeated Tyme Liesimk 6-1, 6-4. Moggio also pulled out a victory over Dennis Fine at the No. 6 spot. Pressley fought for another three-set win to clinch the match for Duke.
"There's definitely a lot of added pressure when the match depends on you," Pressley said. "Everyone's watching you, and even if you're relaxed it's tough."
Sunday found Duke playing No. 6 Texas for the title of the Blue-Gray Classic. The Blue Devils uncharacteristically dropped the doubles point, and never quite made it into the match after that.
"We put a lot into the doubles and they just outplayed us," Lapidus said. "That took our strength away. We were also a little bit tired mentally."
Chess picked up a win for the Devils at the No. 3 spot, defeating Longhorn David Draper 6-1, 7-6. Gusky picked up the only other win on the day by handling Trey Phillips 6-1, 6-3.
Gusky suffered an ankle injury last fall, but has finally returned to full form and did not lose a match in the entire tournament.
"Adam is very confident in his playing right now," Lapidus said. "He played one of the best matches I've ever seen him play [during this tournament]."
At the top spot, Pressley, ranked sixth in the nation, fell to fifth-ranked Chad Clark 6-0, 6-3.
"He definitely outplayed me," Pressley said. "I was pretty tired [both] emotionally and physically."
Although the Blue Devils did not pull out the tournament title, the team was very optimistic about its play.
"This tournament is definitely a positive thing," Pressley said. "It proved that we're a real tough bunch of guys."
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