The men's tennis team is counting on the D's-doubles and depth-to help it advance far in the NCAA tournament. Currently No. 10 in the country, Duke hopes to climb even higher by the end of the season.
And it's just fine if that means going all the way to the top.
Winning at doubles this season will be key for the Blue Devils since they struggled in that area last year, losing many matches 4-3. But the addition of sophomore LSU transfer Pedro Escudero helped the Blue Devils attain early success in the doubles category.
The duo of Escudero and junior Doug Root is undefeated thus far in the season and has won the championships in both the Milwaukee Tennis Classic and the ACC Indoors. Root is confident that with Escudero in the lineup, Duke's chance for a successful season is even greater.
"If we can win at doubles, it'll be a good momentum booster and we'll be tough to beat," said Root. "As a team, everyone's improved a lot, and now with Pedro, we have a good chance of going far-hopefully top five. Winning the NCAAs seems like a pretty attainable team goal."
Escudero is also confident that this Blue Devils team is one of the strongest that Duke has ever had and compares it to his successful LSU team from last year.
"LSU was No. 1 for awhile last year and this team is better than [LSU]," said Escudero.
While many on the team have high aspirations for the Blue Devils, coach Jay Lapidus is hesitant to put a marker on what the team should attain. Instead, Lapidus' goals are the same as in years past.
"I don't like to put pressure on them," said Lapidus. "Our goals have always been simplistic-play the best we can, work hard in every match and think we can do it."
Lapidus has not set a lineup for the season. The only position that is definite is the No. 1 doubles team of Escudero and Root. As for the rest of the team, it is unclear who will play the high and low positions due to Duke's depth.
Though the top players for the Blue Devils are Root, Escudero and sophomore Ramsey Smith, it is this depth that will help in their success. Some of the other players to watch for include junior Porter Jones, sophomore Andres Pedroso and sophomore Marko Cerenko, all of whom had many successes in the fall tournament season.
Duke's strong team will be put to the test right from the opening of the spring season with a difficult schedule that never eases up. Lapidus said that it is perhaps the most difficult schedule Duke has ever seen.
While depth and doubles play are essential for this team, another important factor is staying motivated in every match throughout the season and working hard at every practice. Though Root has high aspirations for the team as a whole, his personal goals are more about keeping his motivation high.
"As an individual, my goal is to go out and play hard in every match," said Root. "If I do that, everything else should fall in place."
Escudero already feels that he is working harder this year and he attributes this to Lapidus.
"I'm more aggressive now," said Escudero. "Coach is pushing me harder. Now we have to start winning and be ready from the beginning until the end."
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