Orlando, Fla. -- Another season, another championship. The No. 2 men's tennis team was all smiles yesterday as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Clemson to take home its fourth straight ACC title.
In their final match before the NCAA tournament, Duke improved to 21-3 on the season, while the Tigers droppped to 8-20.
"I'm just happy for the seniors [Ramsey Smith and Marko Cerenko]," coach Jay Lapidus said. "You take a lot for granted... we pretty much rolled through singles, so I knew we were in pretty good shape."
Duke came in an overwhelming favorite and handled the Tigers from the outset, with Smith and Cerenko leading the way. Smith extended his Duke record for singles victories to 114, while Cerenko demolished Clemson's Darren Wright 6-1, 6-2 to finish his ACC singles career without a loss.
Smith also teamed with freshman Phillip King to open up the afternoon with an 8-1 doubles victory. The other doubles pairings were tighter, though, with Andres Pedroso and Alex Bose pulling out an 8-6 win. That match was on serve with Duke up 7-6 when Bose and Pedroso worked the ensuing game to 30-30. A controversial line call on the next point suddenly gave the Blue Devils a break opportunity for the match, which they capitalized on with the help
Lapidus was pleased with the team's effort overall but felt the Blue Devils can do better in doubles, and promised that will be an area that Duke will work on extensively between now and the NCAA's next month.
"We've got to keep working on doubles," Lapidus said. "Whether we change around the lineups, I don't know. I'll talk to the guys and see where it goes. Certainly, Phillip and Ramsey will play together."
Any concerns were minor--the Blue Devils breezed through singles play without losing a set. Playing at the No. 1 slot, Phillip King had the most difficulty, winning two tough sets over Clemson's Josh Goffi 6-3, 7-5.
Pedroso, Joel Spicher and Yorke Allen did not finish, but all were leading convincingly at the time the title was clinched by King. King's first ACC championship might also be his last; the phenom may try his luck on the pro circuit next year depending on how well he plays this summer.
Although King delivered the knockout blow, it was Smith and Cerenko wearing the biggest smiles, having won their fourth conference championship again in impressive manner.
"Marko's undefeated record in every singles match is amazing," Smith said. "You have to come to play in every match, and tennis is such an unpredictable sport. That's never going to happen again, I didn't think that could be done."
Cerenko's run at an undefeated mark has been under discussion for some time. But on the day of his last ACC match, nervousness was far from the Atlanta native's mind, as the senior played confidently and was up 5-0 in the first set.
"I didn't pay any attention to [the streak]," Cerenko said. "In the first couple years, the guys on the team kind of joked about it. I have a lot of confidence and I feel it was a result of my hard work."
Cerenko and the rest of the team viewed the weekend largely as preparation for the upcoming NCAA's, since the field presented no major challengers. Smith believes getting in three matches in four days will be beneficial to the Blue Devils when they compete for a national championship next month in Stone Mountain, Ga.
There the Blue Devils can expect the same mid-80s heat that they faced this past weekend and, if yesterday was any indication, Duke will be more than fit enough to survive the conditions.
Cerenko, for instance, commented on tiring out his opponent who had just played a long doubles match. Duke also used their superior fitness to tire out North Carolina two weeks ago under similarly hot conditions.
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