The men's tennis doubles tandem of junior Ryan Heinberg and sophomore Pete Shults started the season off with a bang, winning the Top of the Hill Kickoff Classic this past weekend in Chapel Hill.
Other members of the team also played at the Southern Collegiate tournament in Athens, Ga., but many of their matches were canceled because of poor weather.
In Chapel Hill, Heinberg and Shults competed in a bracket featuring top teams from eight local schools. After winning easily in the first two rounds, the Duke duo beat Wake Forest's Trent Brendon and Andrew Simpson 8-2 in a doubles pro set to capture the title.
"Ryan and I complement each other nicely...Where one of us is weak, the other is strong," Shults said.
Assistant coach Dave Hagymas echoed the sophomore's sentiments.
"Ryan has the ability to make great shots--he's a very flashy player--while Peter provides a more steady and consistent presence," Hagymas said. "They played great together this weekend."
The two also competed in the singles bracket, with Shults making the semifinals and Heinberg the quarters.
After winning his first two matches, Shults earned a semifinal showdown with Winthrop's hard serving Clayton Almeida. The two players split the first two sets before inclement weather forced them to forgo a full third set and instead play a "super tiebreaker," with the first player to 10 points taking the match. Almeida's serve carried him to a 10-5 victory, and Shults was eliminated.
Heinberg, meanwhile, won his opening round match before falling at the hands of Wake Forest's David Bere in the quarterfinals. Bere went on to win the championship, defeating Almeida in straight sets.
"Pete's worked really hard on his game, to the point where he's becoming a new player," Hagymas said. "It's great to see him doing so well. Ryan was impressive as well, and he'll be more than ready to compete once he gets a few matches under his belt."
At the Southern Collegiate tournament in Athens, Ga., mother nature was the big winner.
The Blue Devils saw their schedule cut short after only one match when play was suspended for the weekend. Before the rain fell, however, freshmen Stephen Amritraj, Chris Brown, Stefan Rozyci, Jonathan Stokke and Ludovic Walter all emerged victorious in singles action. Walter also combined with Jason Zimmerman to post a doubles victory.
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