When the third-ranked men's tennis team defeated UNC by the score of 6-1 on Friday, it set up a showdown with Virginia to clinch a third straight undefeated ACC season for Duke. The Blue Devils (19-4, 8-0 in the ACC) didn't disappoint, as they defeated the 25th-ranked Cavaliers (13-8, 4-4) yesterday, 5-2, in Duke's home finale.
The match was not as easy as it sounded for the Blue Devils, who started off on the wrong foot by struggling through their doubles matches. After Ramsey Smith and Porter Jones lost at No. 3, the Blue Devils came back to win both the higher seeded matchups by the score of 8-6 to take the doubles point.
"The doubles was really close," coach Jay Lapidus said. "We were fortunate to get through that."
The doubles matchup was especially important for the combination of seniors Dmitry Muzyka and Jordan Wile, who were both playing in their final home match. In winning, the 24th-ranked pair can now stake a claim on a high regional seed.
"I really wanted to win the doubles, because now I think we'll end up No. 1 in the region," Muzyka said.
The singles matches went considerably better for the Blue Devils, who took four out of the six pairings. Only Muzyka and Jones lost, with Jones' loss coming after Duke had already clinched the win.
For Duke, however, there was no shame in being played tightly by the Cavaliers.
"I think they're the best team we've played in the conference," said Lapidus. "They were tough, and I'm happy to get through with a win."
On Friday, Duke traveled to UNC, where it met little opposition in defeating the Tar Heels, 6-1. There were only two blemishes for the Blue Devils. Asaaf Drori upset No. 21 Doug Root at No. 2 singles, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, and teamed up with Remi Adamek to upset the 33rd-ranked doubles combination of Root and Pedro Escudero, 8-6.
Duke was simply too much for North Carolina in the other slots, as it won all of the other singles matches in straight sets. The doubles were even uglier, as Duke dropped a total of three games in the remaining two pro-set matches.
The two wins this weekend completed another perfect ACC season for the Blue Devils and set up another opportunity for a deep postseason run.
"I don't want to sound cocky, but I think we kind of expected to win all the [ACC] matches," said Muzyka. "Hopefully we can do the same in the regionals and the NCAAs, which is the ultimate goal."
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