Perhaps the men's tennis team should have warned its competition to watch out. Because in the last two weeks, the Blue Devils have torn through the NCAA tennis elite.
Duke, which finished last season ranked No. 14, has suddenly catapulted itself through the ranks of collegiate tennis. Two weeks ago, the Blue Devils beat both No. 2 Georgia and then-No. 5 Texas, before losing to fifth-ranked UCLA in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Championships.
When the rankings come out at the end of this week, coach Jay Lapidus expects that Duke, currently ranked 10th, will be the No. 4 team in the country.
The rankings jump has come from a team that really doesn't look much different from last season. Except for Pedro Escudero, a transfer student from Louisiana State, the team has no new faces from last year. Escudero, who plays No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles, has certainly made a difference, but the real improvement has come from the Blue Devils' new attitude and experience.
"Everybody has matured," said senior Dmitry Muzyka. "We have no freshmen, so everyone has been on the team two or three years. Everybody is able to play their best tennis."
That experience has also helped improve Duke's doubles teams. In the Blue Devils' four matches against top-10 teams this season, they have only lost the doubles point once-in a loss to then-No. 5 Illinois. Last season, Lapidus experimented with several different doubles combinations, but this year he seems to have gotten them right.
"The key for us has been doubles," said junior Doug Root. "If we win the doubles point consistently, we will be more likely to win our singles points."
Root, who played No. 1 doubles with Jordan Wile his freshman and sophomore years, has a new partner in Escudero. For both Root and Lapidus, Escudero's doubles play has been a pleasant surprise.
"I knew Pedro was going to come in and be a huge factor for us in singles," Lapidus said. "I didn't realize we were getting such a good team guy and such doubles skill."
Root also brings a new attitude this season. After storming into collegiate tennis his freshman year, earning the No. 1 singles spot and All-America honors, Root went through a slight sophomore slump last year. His difficulties stemmed from trouble adjusting to being the favorite-a problem he has corrected.
"Last year, I was expected to win a lot more than I'd been used to," he said. "I don't think I was really prepared. I was expecting people to roll over and they never did. This year, I'm fighting hard every match."
Duke has achieved success this year without much help from its highest-ranked singles player, Ramsey Smith. That will change Monday against Florida, when Smith returns to singles play after breaking his foot in November.
Even without Smith, the Blue Devils were able to achieve their biggest upset in quite some time-a win over No. 2 Georgia at the National Indoors. With memories of last year's 4-2 loss to the Bulldogs at the same tournament, the Blue Devils approached this year's match seeking revenge.
"Last year we were in exactly the same situation, and it set the tone for the whole season," said Muzyka.
But this year, Duke turned the tables. The Blue Devils swept the doubles matches and got singles victories from Root, Escudero, Porter Jones and Marko Cerenko to beat the Bulldogs, 4-2.
For Root, the victory was sweet.
"Beating Georgia was just unbelievable," Root said. "In the three years I've been here we haven't beaten a top-three team. It was a great feeling."
As the season continues, the Blue Devils are looking for much more than just a No. 4 ranking. Collegiate tennis has been filled with upsets and unexpected front-runners this year, and the Blue Devils have their sights set on postseason play. Although still early in the season, a national title seems like a much more obtainable goal.
"It's much more wide open up and down on the national front," Lapidus said. "It's exciting to be this strong in a year where it's wide open."
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