The No. 7 men's tennis team survived a seven-hour road trip and stormy weather to knock off eleventh-ranked Kentucky Sunday at Lexington.
Despite losing at the top two singles positions, Duke swept the third through sixth positions to take a 4-2 victory and improve to 4-2 on the season. With the loss, Kentucky fell to 8-4.
Under pressure from an impending rainstorm, the two teams played the singles matches first, and the match eventually moved indoors. Duke clinched the match with freshman Ramsey Smith's split-set win over Ariel Gaitan at No. 5 singles, rendering the doubles matches unnecessary.
Junior Dmitry Muzyka was too much for Kentucky's Marcus Fluitt at No. 3, winning in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Jordan Wile and Andres Pedroso scored Duke's other two points, cruising to straight-set victories at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
"The freshmen played really well," head coach Jay Lapidus said of Smith and Pedroso, who rolled over Kentucky's Dan Spaner 6-0, 6-1. "They were put in a pressure situation, and they really delivered."
The pressure came from the top, where Kentucky's Cedric Kauffman and Carlos Drada each won in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Kauffman, ranked No. 6 in the nation, swept sophomore Doug Root, 6-3, 7-6.
Meanwhile, Drada took advantage of an ailing Alberto Brause, 6-4, 6-4.
"Alberto just got a little bit tired," Lapidus said. "He's been sick, and he just wasn't as sharp as he usually is."
Brause's condition probably wasn't helped by the marathon drive from Durham to Lexington. In a money-saving move, Lapidus opted to have the Blue Devils drive, rather than fly, to Sunday's match.
"It was a battle," Lapidus said of the drive. "[Fortunately] it only took seven hours and not the nine that we had expected. It was actually kind of fun; it was a good bonding experience, and I had a good weekend.
"I think our chemistry's really good. It'll only get stronger as the year goes on, and we'll improve as a team."
It was Duke's second win over Kentucky this year. Duke swept the Wildcats 4-0 on Feb. 19 at the National Team Indoor Championships.
"We knew they're a good team, and playing at their indoor place was a lot more difficult," Lapidus said. "They had a lot of people out to cheer them on. Obviously they're very dangerous, especially with Kauffman at No. 1."
The Blue Devils return to the courts Thursday when they host South Carolina at 1:30 p.m. The Atlantic Coast Conference season starts Mar. 17 with a match at Florida State.
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