The No. 3 men's tennis team will attempt to build on last Wednesday's 5-2 win over seventh-ranked Tennessee when they meet No. 10 Florida at Duke Tennis Stadium Sunday.
The Blue Devils hope to extend a nine-match home winning streak and continue a strong spring season in which their only loss came against Stanford in the semifinals of the National Indoors Championships.
"We're pretty confident right now," coach Jay Lapidus said. "We're not surprised we're doing so well, this team's good. The matches were tight [against Tennessee], so we expect a tough match."
Florida enters the contest with a young team, having dropped three of its last four, including a 4-0 loss to Stanford. But Lapidus warned that the Gators are talented and he expected a battle Sunday. If anything, Florida should not come to Durham intimidated, having defeated the Blue Devils twice last season.
And even though Gator coach Ian Duvenhage brings a somewhat different squad from a year ago, those losses have not been forgotten by the home team.
"You could say that," said sophomore Michael Yani in response to whether the Blue Devils will be looking for payback. "I guess they lost two of their better players and they're not as tough, but it's definitely on our minds."
Last match, Yani teamed with senior Ramsey Smith in an 8-3 route over Tennesee's No. 12 doubles duo of Adam Carey and Mark Parson. Smith, who also won his singles match, continues to lead a team that began the season with a tough schedule and faces four more ranked opponents this month.
Duke still has room to grow, as freshman phenom Philip King dropped three of his last four matches. But like most of his teammates, King did have a strong outing against the Volunteers, winning his singles match in straight sets.
"It definitely boosts our confidence," Yani said. "Tennessee came into the season at No. 2 and we beat them pretty well. Tennessee's a little bit stronger than Florida, but [the Gator's] top guy Nathan Overholser is strong."
Overholser has a good deal of momentum coming into Durham, having defeated Arkansas' Oskar Johannson, the nationally top-ranked singles player in the country Wednesday.
His probable matchup with Smith should be the one to watch, along with Duke's Marko Cerenko trying to bounce back after a 6-4, 6-4 loss earlier this week.
Even if Overholser pulls off a second straight upset, Duke's superior depth ought to give the Gators problems. Florida will put No. 77 freshman Jeremy Wurtzel in the three slot against either Cerenko or No. 19 Andres Pedroso, and the rest of the matchups look just as favorable for Duke.
Revenge could also be an issue for Pedroso, a senior, who was routed 6-3, 6-1 by Florida's Olivier Levant last year at the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. But, Levant will likely see King, who has split time between the No. 1 and No. 2 positions this spring.
As they will play at home just once in the next four weeks, Duke hopes to use that advantage for another dominant performance Sunday. That four-week stretch will have the Blue Devils spending spring break in Texas where they will play four matches in five days, including a clash with the No. 8 Longhorns March 11.
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