Senior Ramsey Smith won his 111th singles match and teamed with Phillip King for an easy doubles victory as No. 3 Duke rolled 5-2 over North Carolina yesterday afternoon in Chapel Hill.
Spoiling senior day for three Tar Heels, the Blue Devils survived plus-90 degree heat on their way to finishing the ACC regular season undefeated at 8-0.
"I feel like whenever we play UNC, it's going to be a tough match just because of the rivalry," coach Jay Lapidus said. "It was a good, tough match. Ramsey and Phillip continued to play very well for us, and we won [our] one-two-three singles [matches] fairly handily."
Playing at the No. 1 slot, Smith routed freshman Nicolas Monroe 6-1, 6-2. The victory puts him just two wins away from setting the all-time Duke record. He was complimented by fellow senior Marko Cerenko, who completed a 6-1, 6-4 demolishing of David Cheatwood in the final ACC match of his career. The win gives Cerenko a career mark of 31-0 in ACC regular season play and a 23-6 record on the
Although the Tar Heels' Senior Day made for a pressure atmosphere, the afternoon was most shaped by the warmest temperatures of the season.
Despite playing their second match in three days, the Blue Devils used the tough conditions as an advantage, Lapidus and King said.
"It was definitely difficult out there, and wearing black shirts didn't help," King said. "But I felt like we were fitter."
Lapidus agreed, though he felt that fatigue may have been a factor in the two singles matches the Blue Devils dropped. No. 37 Andres Pedroso appeared to have the momentum in his match against unranked Trystan Meniane, winning the second set 7-6. But Lapidus said the heat seemed to catch up with the senior, as he faltered to lose a third set tie-break.
"It was pretty uncomfortable out there," Lapidus said. "It was definitely tough to deal with; going from 60 to 90 in such a short time is hard to adjust to. Andres was probably tired in the third set, but our players are pretty
Pedroso did team with Alex Bose for an 8-5 doubles win, as the Blue Devils gained the opening point with a 2-1 edge in the doubles matches.
Lapidus said the Blue Devils endurance has benefitted from playing a lot of matches, but he still plans to step up their conditioning in the 10 days between now and the ACC championships.
One player who may not need such conditioning is No. 14 freshman phenom Phillip King. The southern California native said he enjoys playing in the heat, and it showed yesterday as he easily beat junior Marcio Petrone 6-1, 6-4.
"I just knew if I stayed out there long enough, he was going to get tired before me," King said. "Definitely, a lot of us got tired. You just have to be in shape, and I think I am."
As for the pressure of the Duke-UNC rivalry, King said he knew it was a big day for the seniors, but he treated it like any other match.
"I haven't been here that long," he said. "I knew if I played tennis the way I know how, that I would be fine."
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