As the only ACC school in the top 25, the men's tennis team came into this weekend's conference championships as the overwhelming favorite. Third-ranked Duke came away from Atlanta with an overwhelming victory, dropping only one point in three matches in capturing its second straight ACC title.
"There was a lot of pressure on us," coach Jay Lapidus said. "Everyone felt we would win, but it's not always easy to step into that position. We followed through and did a good job maintaining our composure."
The top-seeded Blue Devils (22-4) didn't lose a single set yesterday, sweeping No. 2 Georgia Tech (15-7) 4-0 at the Racquet Club of the South for their eighth conference crown.
Pedro Escudero, Andres Pedroso and Porter Jones all won their matches in straight sets after Duke took the doubles point with wins at the first and third positions. At No. 1 singles, Dmitry Muzyka, ranked 64th in the country, upset No. 23 Benjamin Cassaigne 7-5, 6-1, after the Blue Devils had already clinched the championship.
Escudero, who posted three straight-set wins on the weekend, was named the championships' Most Valuable Player.
"He was pretty much decimating every guy he played," Lapidus said. "He can get bored playing at No. 3 singles, but he went out there with the right attitude. It helps us to have that one guy we can really count on to get a win-it takes the pressure off the rest of the team."
Duke beat fourth-seeded Virginia (15-9) by the same 4-0 score Saturday, but the match itself was much closer. At No. 5 singles, Pedroso came back after losing the first set to knock off Tommy Croker, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and clinch the match.
"That was a tough match," Lapidus said. "I think they're the second-best team in the conference. They're pretty strong."
Jones and Ramsey Smith picked up a 9-7 victory at third doubles to give the Blue Devils the doubles point. Muzyka and Jordan Wile, the 18th-ranked tandem in the nation, handled No. 22 Huntley Montgomery and Brian Vahaly at the No. 1 slot, but the 44th-ranked duo of Escudero and Doug Root were upset at the second spot.
"It's crucial, especially in the conference, to win the doubles point," Lapidus said. "It's hard to beat us four out of six in singles. [All weekend] once we won the doubles point, I didn't think there was any way we were going to lose."
Duke's only singles loss in Atlanta came in its quarterfinal match against eighth-seeded N.C. State (13-11) Friday. No. 61 Roberto Bracone beat Muzyka, 7-6, 6-3, but Escudero, Jones and Marko Cerenko notched straight-set wins as the Blue Devils prevailed 4-1.
The Blue Devils return to the courts May 14-16 for the NCAA Regionals as they try to extend their 16-match win streak. Duke has not lost since Smith returned to the singles lineup Mar. 16 and could move up a spot in the rankings to second after No. 2 Illinois lost last Sunday.
"We're definitely playing better now than we were a month [or a] month-and-a-half ago.... We're really rolling along," Lapidus said. "We can't be much more confident going into nationals. We're playing about as well as we can right now."
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