The men's tennis team continued its torrid play over the weekend, blitzing its competition on its way to the round of 16.
Dropping only one match in two 4-0 routs, No. 5 Duke crushed Hampton May 12 and Auburn the next afternoon, just as the rest of the Duke population school was at a cap and gown ceremony.
The 21st-ranked Tigers were the first test for Duke in quite some time. For the surging Blue Devils, who were riding a 13-match winning streak and the ACC regular-season and tournament crowns into the first round, Hampton was about as much of a challenge as the rest of the ACC--a conference that has been referred to as "cupcake city."
On the other hand, Auburn presented some interesting problems, the biggest of which came at doubles, which has proven to be Duke's most visible weakness all season. The Blue Devils' red-hot 22nd-ranked pair of Phillip King and Ramsey Smith--both of whom were All-ACC selections--put away Auburn's tandem of Tiago Ruffoni and Georges Matijasevic 8-5. But Auburn snuck away with an 8-6 win at the No. 3 slot as Rameez Junaid and Estevam Strecker beat recently named All-ACC team member Andres Pedroso, who teamed with Alex Bose.
With the No. 2 slot left as the rubber match, the Tigers had high hopes against a supposedly rusty team of Marko Cerenko and Mike Yani, who had not played together since the finals of the ACC tournament. However, their hopes were soon crushed as Cerenko and Yani systematically demolished Mark Kovacs and Andre Boz 8-2 to claim the doubles point for the Blue Devils.
"I am really proud of our team," coach Jay Lapidus said. "The doubles was very close and our No. 1 doubles team played very well. Auburn fought very hard and our four seniors showed their composure really well."
Duke carried its momentum from the doubles victory into singles, winning the first set in all of the singles matches. Bose had the easiest time, beating Boz 6-1, 6-2 to extend Duke's lead to 2-0.
Auburn's biggest glimmer of hope came when Strecker took a 4-1 lead on Joel Spicher in the second set at the No. 5 slot. However, the sophomore from Geneva, Switzerland won the next five games to edge Strecker 6-3, 6-4, putting Duke within one point of the victory.
"It always happens like that," Spicher said. "I have trouble concentrating after winning the first set. Auburn is a good team and played well today. It is going to get tough as we move on, but we feel we have a good chance and everyone is playing well."
The matched was finally closed when Smith held off Ruffoni 6-3, 7-5 to send Duke into a Sweet 16 date Saturday with Miami.
"It was tough losing the first set in four singles matches, especially after losing the doubles point," Auburn coach Eric Shore said. "We did a good job coming from behind in the second set, and were a few balls from forcing a few third sets. We had opportunities today, but Duke is a top-five team and they deserve it."
Although Duke sliced through the Hampton Pirates like hot butter on the fourth of July, its only main weakness was again at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles. The Blue Devils did not drop one match in doubles, but they did have to go to 8-5 at the third slot before winning--a close match compared to the consistent 6-0 and 6-1 wins during singles play.
"The doubles play was very competitive," Hampton coach Robert Screen said. "We had a wonderful chance to win the doubles point. Our team has nothing to hang their heads about."
All that being said, as the Blue Devils get into the meat of the NCAA tournament, Lapidus could not be much more pleased with his team's play. After running the table in the ACC and following it up with a win over Auburn, the Blue Devils now look primed for a run that could take them as far as the national championship, even if they drop the doubles point.
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