This weekend's Rolex Region II Indoor Championships proved to be a coming of age for the men's tennis team, especially for junior Sven Koehler.
Koehler stormed through his bracket in the main singles draw, winning five matches. He was named co-champion of the tournament.
Koehler knocked off some tough opponents on his way to the title. After defeating Adam Abney of Furman in the first round, Koehler bounced No. 1 seed Maxsy Jimenez of South Carolina 7-6, 2-6, 6-4. Two matches later, Koehler downed eighth-seeded Mitch Sprenglemeyer of Clemson in another three-set match to advance to the finals, where he beat Jason White of Florida State 6-1, 7-5. Koehler is one of two singles players from Region II to qualify for the Rolex National Indoors, which will be held Feb. 8-11.
"It was an unbelievable tournament for Sven," head coach Jay Lapidus said. "He deserves a lot of credit for the win."
Lapidus cited a new work ethic as the main reason Koehler has improved since last year, when he played singles as the sixth seed for Duke.
"Last spring, you could see glimpses of brilliance in his game," Lapidus said. "He's matured a lot."
It was also a great tournament for the new faces on Duke's team. Freshman Dmitry Muzyka recorded two victories before being forced to retire in the quarterfinals. Muzyka was leading Jorge Esqueda of South Carolina 7-6, 5-2, when he was hobbled by cramps. Muzyka lost the second set 7-5 and was down 2-0 in the third when he retired.
Lapidus was very excited about Muzyka's performance.
"He's going to be one of the best we've ever had," he said.
Freshmen Jordan Wile and Bryan Getz also put in solid performances for Duke. Both won two matches to qualify for the main draw. In the first round, Wile knocked off Daniel Russo of George Mason before falling to Hyon Yoo of Virginia in three sets. Getz, who has been out for much of the fall with a rib injury, defeated Josh Osswald of Wake Forest before losing 6-3, 6-4, to Sprenglemeyer in the second round.
"I'm really pleased with the freshmen," Lapidus said.
Koehler and Muzyka also teamed up for doubles, where they tallied a victory before being eliminated. They defeated Jason White and Murphy Payne of Florida State in the first round, but were bounced 6-2, 7-6, by eventual champions Bruce Li and Mitch Sprenglemeyer of Clemson in the quarterfinals.
Ramin Pejan and Jordan Murray also competed for the Blue Devils. Pejan won his qualifying matches, but was knocked off in the first round. Murray defeated Eric Gordon of North Carolina before losing to fourth-seeded B.J. Traub of Georgia Tech.
Other highly-ranked Duke players did not fare as well as Koehler. Seniors Rob Chess and Peter Ayers, the No. 1 seed in the doubles bracket, were edged out 7-6, 7-6, by third-seeded Daniel Merkert and Michael Stump of Wake Forest in the semifinals.
"They played a pretty good match," Lapidus said. "They got unlucky on a couple points. It was good quality tennis."
Ayers, the third seed in the singles draw, was bounced in the first round.
Despite Chess and Ayers' loss, Lapidus considered the tournament a success.
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