Blue Devils drop 1st 2 matches in Texas, but come back with 3 wins

The outcome in collegiate match play often comes down to one match. When the men's tennis team faced off against five of the nation's top teams last week, the difference between a good week and a tremendous week came down to one match, twice, as the fourth-ranked Blue Devils lost to both No. 8 Texas and No. 34 Texas Christian by 4-3 scores-Duke's first back-to-back losses in over a year.

The difference in both matches was Duke's play in doubles. Normally a strength for the Blue Devils, Duke suffered from uncharacteristically poor play as it dropped five of six matches against both opponents.

"It was definitely our worst doubles performance of the year," coach Jay Lapidus said. "It was our first time outdoors and we had to play under some tough conditions."

Fourth-ranked Duke (9-4) managed to salvage its trip through the Lone Star State by shutting out No. 19 Texas A&M 7-0. Although the final score may imply a lopsided affair, the matches were tightly played as 20th-ranked Doug Root, Dmitry Muzyka, 69th-ranked Pedro Escudero, and 97th-ranked Andres Pedroso all sweated out three-set wins to hand the Aggies their first defeat of the season.

Duke was able to notch a win on the last leg of their road trip Thursday afternoon as they downed No. 17 Mississippi State, 6-1. The Blue Devils dominated every aspect of the match as they took the opening doubles point followed by straight set wins at the bottom four singles positions. Muzyka clinched the victory by putting away his opponent in straight sets.

Duke finished its week against Kentucky yesterday at the Chapel Hill Tennis Club. The Blue Devils had to endure another tight match, but this time they came away with the 4-3 victory. At 3-3, the third-seeded doubles match proved to be the decisive one. Duke's sophomore duo of Andres Pedroso and Ramsey Smith came through as they broke early and maintained their lead for the 8-6 victory.

"It was a unique situation with the match being decided with a doubles match," Lapidus said. "Andres and Ramsey were clutch and they came through for us."