In the past few years, the men's tennis team has been known for its domination in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Blue Devils have not lost a conference match since 1992, compiling a 25-match unbeaten streak in regular and tournament league play.
On Saturday, No. 8 Duke continued its winning ways as it demolished ACC-rival Virginia 7-0 at the Duke Tennis Stadium. The Blue Devils (12-3, 3-0 in the ACC) have now completed two straight shutouts, as they also defeated Virginia Commonwealth 7-0 this last Wednesday in Richmond.
While the score indicated a Duke blowout, some of the matches were not that easy for the Blue Devils. Junior Peter Ayers, senior Philippe Moggio and sophomore Adam Gusky all took three sets to finish off their opponents in singles, and none of the doubles matches were Duke blowouts.
"Especially at numbers 4 and 5, [the Cavaliers] played really well," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "They have a couple of freshmen at four and five, and [those two players] are quite good."
At the No. 4 position, Gusky squared off with Cavalier Justin Smith. Gusky easily captured the first set 6-1, but Smith pulled back in the second set to force a tiebreaker. The Cavalier prevailed in the tiebreaker, sending the match to the third and deciding set.
The final set was almost as close as the second, with Gusky outlasting Smith 7-5, completing the victory for the Blue Devils.
"In terms of the quality of the total match, that was the best tennis out there," Lapidus said of the Gusky-Smith matchup. "Adam is on an unbelievable hot streak. He's played great all year long."
Moggio's opponent at No. 5, Bear Schofield, also forced a third set by edging out the senior in a tiebreaker. However, Moggio quickly shut down Schofield in the third set, 6-0.
Ayers played the only other three-setter of the day, facing UVa's Edwin Lewis. Ayers fell behind earlyDDlosing the first set 6-1DDyet picked up the win by claiming the next two sets, 6-2, 6-1.
"[Lewis] had a really strange game," Lapidus said. "He had a lot of junk balls and a very unusual style. It took Peter a set to get used to that and then he sort of cruised after that."
All of the other Blue Devils took their points in two-set contests. Senior Chris Pressley, ranked 18th in the nation, downed Cavalier David Stolle at the No. 1 position, 6-2, 6-1. Junior Rob Chess, ranked No. 9, also put away his opponent handily.
"I felt like Chris played a great match today," Lapidus said. "He was really going after his shots, he was real aggressive. Rob also looked good today."
Freshman Sebastien Gobbi saw action in his second league contest, outlasting Virginia's Aaron Strimban, 6-4, 7-6.
Duke won all of its doubles matches, as Ayers and Chess preserved their No. 4 national ranking with a win over Lewis and Schofield at the first spot, 8-5. No. 21 Gusky and Moggio also defeated the Cavaliers at No. 2, 8-5. Pressley and junior Jordan Murray completed the romp with an 8-4 win over Lebwitz and Strimban.
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