Men's tennis posts whitewashing in Sheffield Center opener

In case you missed it, Saturday's men's tennis season opener was a historic event in the course of Duke sports.

The match marked the first competition in the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center, a new two-story building just adjacent to the outdoor tennis courts.

No. 4 Duke (1-0), which won last year's ACC tournament before progressing to the quarterfinals in the NCAAs, easily defeated Charleston Southern 7-0.

"We felt good," coach Jay Lapidus said. "I think it was a perfect first match. They're a solid little team. I think at this point, we're a little stronger than they are. But I think it was good to push us a little bit."

In doubles play, Duke's No. 1 team of Marko Cerenko and Ted Rueger took its match 8-0. The win, which was over in half the time of the other two doubles matches, would set the tone of the entire afternoon.

Duke's second-seeded team of junior Andres Pedroso and freshman Joel Spicher came away with an 8-4 victory. The Blue Devils' third team, senior Porter Jones and freshman Michael Yani, joined up for an 8-2 win. It was the first collegiate doubles match for both Spicher and Yani.

"I thought our doubles looked pretty good today," Lapidus said. "I was really happy with the way Marco and Ted were playing so well. I feel if we can get the doubles under our belt, we're in good shape."

Taking a 1-0 lead going into singles play, five of the six Blue Devils won their matches, including a Cerenko shutout and a 6-1, 6-2 win from Pedroso, who is ranked 44th nationally. No. 3 Spicher led his opponent 6-4, 5-2 when their match was retired because Duke had clinched the victory.