A week of rest proved beneficial for the men's tennis team this Saturday. After a string of tough matches, the fifth-ranked Blue Devils regained their strength in a 6-1 win over No. 17 Virginia Commonwealth.
The Blue Devils opened the match impressively in the doubles competition. At the No. 1 spot, sophomores Rob Chess and Peter Ayers pulled off a victory over the nation's 15th-ranked doubles team, Fredrik Eliasson and Jonas Emblad, 8-6.
Juniors Chris Pressley and Philippe Moggio continued the domination by taking Rams Boris Kodjoe and Wassmer 8-3. Freshman Adam Gusky and sophomore Nick Walrod sneaked out a win at the No. 3 doubles over Fredrick Wickstrom and Weskamp, 9-8.
The slaughter of VCU continued in singles play. Pressley, ranked No. 5 in the nation, dropped the first set but then pulled out a victory over 33rd-ranked Eliasson, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Chess continued his fine play at the No. 2 position, downing Virginia Commonwealth's Kodjoe, 6-4, 6-4.
Ayers also took a two-set victory over Ram Emblad, 6-4, 7-5. Ayers has been struggling with his game this season, but may be getting back on track.
"Peter plays a lot based on confidence," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "He's much more relaxed. I think he's gotten his confidence back now."
Dropping the only match of the day was Gusky at the No. 4 position. He was quickly defeated by VCU's Wickstrom, 6-3, 6-0. But Duke picked up two more points by winning at the last two slots. After splitting the first two sets, Moggio fought back for the win at the No. 5 position, while freshman Sven Koehler picked up a victory at No. 6.
"We're just better relaxed now," Lapidus said. "We were traveling for a while, and we were really exhausted. Now we're winning some of the close matches and the doubles. We're feeling good now."
Although the score was overwhelmingly in Duke's favor, Lapidus was quick to point out the strength of VCU.
"[VCU] is a really good team," Lapidus said. "I think we were just a little better than them at each position. Overall we were a little stronger."
Sophomore Jordan Murray has been absent from the Duke lineup since the Blue Devils played South Carolina on March 23. He is suffering from a stress fracture in his back, but hopes to be back on the court this week.
"The doctors told me that I could try to play this week," Murray said. "They're making a brace for my back, so hopefully I'll be able to play without any pain."
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