March Madness is now underway, but the basketball team is not the only Duke team receiving national attention.
The men's tennis team is also showing its prominence on the collegiate athletic scene. The team will compete at the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala., this weekend. Duke's hopes for a solid tournament are strong, and the Blue Devils have an outstanding chance to win it.
The Blue Devils, currently No. 4 in the nation, have received a No. 2 seed in the highly competitive field. The first foe for the Blue Devils will be 26th-ranked Alabama. Also in Duke's bracket are a host of nationally-ranked teams, including No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 11 Mississippi.
"Alabama is a really good team," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "Notre Dame and Mississippi are also quality teams. There are 16 teams in this tournament, and I'd say at least 10 are top-20 teams. It's a real strong field."
If the Blue Devils are to capture the tournament title, they will have to get by the third-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs.
"We've pulled back up to No. 4 in the polls, and I think we have a good shot of winning [the Blue-Gray Classic]," Lapidus said. "Mississippi State is tough, but I think we could pull out a win."
If the Blue Devils advance to play Mississippi State, a key matchup would be at the No. 1 position. Junior Chris Pressley is currently ranked No. 6 in the nation. Pressley could see a matchup with Bulldog Laurent Orsini, who boasts the No. 1 singles ranking in the nation.
Depth has been a strong point for the Blue Devils this season. The freshmen have made significant contributions, as Sven Koehler and Adam Gusky have both pulled out tough matches against quality opponents.
Juniors Philippe Moggio and Pressley have only dropped one match each this spring. Sophomore Rob Chess has vaulted up the national polls and is currently ranked 19th. Fellow sophomore Jordan Murray has broken into the top 100 for the first time in his career with his outstanding play this spring. The only struggling Blue Devil has been sophomore Peter Ayers, who has won merely two matches this season.
Duke is riding a wave of confidence after an outstanding spring break trip. The team dropped their first match of the break to No. 12 Miami, but then achieved key wins over No. 11 Florida and Atlantic Coast Conference foe Florida State.
The Blue Devils avenged a heart-wrenching loss to Kentucky at the National Team Indoors by scoring a 4-2 victory over the Wildcats, who are tied with the Blue Devils for the No. 4 ranking. A strong showing at the Blue-Gray Classic could allow the Blue Devils to climb even higher in the national rankings.
"I've always heard really good things about this tournament," Lapidus said. "They treat the guys really well and offer a great field. We decided it would give us some good competition."
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