The men's tennis team did not have time to go on an Easter egg hunt this weekend. That's because it was busy finding two victories in Virginia, keeping its perfect Atlantic Coast Conference record intact and pushing its overall record up to 13-5.
On Saturday, No. 18 Duke demolished Virginia in a 5-2 win. The victory brings the Blue Devils to an impeccable 5-0 in the ACC while dropping the Cavaliers to 3-3 in the ACC and 12-6 overall.
The Blue Devils continued their Easter weekend rampage through the state for lovers with a 4-3 victory over No. 23 Virginia Commonwealth (19-6).
Playing No. 2 singles, senior Alberto Brause produced straight-set victories against both opponents. He won 6-3, 7-6 against the Cavaliers' Bear Schofield and 6-4, 6-4 against the Rams' Jose Manuel Sanchez. His win on Sunday was particularly important because his win sealed the victory for the Blue Devils.
"[Brause's] was the deciding match against VCU," said coach Jay Lapidus. "We were up 3-2 and he clinched it for us."
Freshmen players Marko Cerenko and
"At each position at singles, we're very strong," Lapidus said. "We're dangerous no matter who we play."
He added that Duke could always come up with four singles wins, it was just the doubles that needed some work.
That proved to be true this weekend as Duke continued to search for a winning doubles combination. Against the Cavaliers, the first doubles combination of Doug Root and Wile successfully found an 8-6 victory and the No. 3 union of Ted Rueger and Porter Jones followed suit with an 8-3 win.
On Sunday, however, the Blue Devils tried some different combinations at second and third doubles. This was unsuccessful as the only duo to emerge victorious was the No. 1 doubles team of Root and Wile.
"The doubles against UVA looked good," Lapidus said. "We'll probably use that combination against UNC on Wednesday."
Sophomore Root won both of his doubles matches, but he was not as successful with his singles play. Although he won a straight-set victory at No. 1 singles against UVa on Saturday, he was unsuccessful against VCU's Daniel Anderson, ranked No. 3 in the nation. He'll be looking to avenge his loss this Wednesday afternoon when the Blue Devils meet the Tar Heels at Duke Tennis Stadium.
The rivalry between the teams should make Wednesday's match exciting.
"I think UNC builds their season around playing us," Lapidus said. "It's always a tough battle that comes right down to the wire."
He added that he believes fan support could swing the match in favor of the Blue Devils.
"We'd love to have a few hundred people out there making noise," Lapidus said. "Kind of our own Cameron Crazies-the West Tennis Courts Crazies. You never know, the fans could make the difference."
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