Jonathan Stokke can’t wait to beat up on the nicest guy he’s ever met.
In the first match of the 2005 indoor season, No. 9 Duke faces Charlotte Tuesday in Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center at 3 p.m. where it will have to contend with Stokke’s former high school teammate Marlo Santoso. Following this opening match against the unranked 49ers, the rest of the Blue Devils’ schedule for the indoor season looks to be tough.
Duke’s difficult slate leading up to the National Team Indoors in February includes two top-10 teams.
“It’s a matter of trying to get some tough matches before we go to Indoors so we feel like we’re sharp and we know what to expect when we get there,” head coach Jay Lapidus said.
The Blue Devils’ most challenging contenders will be No. 3 Florida, whom they are scheduled to play Jan. 30 in Durham. Immediately following this match, Duke will go on the road to take on No. 5 Illinois in a Feb. 4 contest.
“[Florida and Illinois] are both legitimate national contenders,” Lapidus said. “They’ll both be very good, hard matches.”
If recent history is any indication, the Blue Devils, who defeated six top-10 teams last year on their way to their 13th-straight NCAA tournament, will be prepared.
Five starters return from last year’s 20-8 team, including 2004 ITA All-Americans junior Ludovic Walter and senior Jason Zimmerman and All-ACC selections Stokke and junior Christopher Brown. At the outset of the 2005 campaign, Walter is ranked sixth nationally in singles. Stokke and junior Stephen Amritraj also received preseason singles rankings and are 53rd and 106th in the nation, respectively.
In doubles, the team of Walter and Zimmerman ranks 14th, while Stokke and sophomore Peter Rodrigues are 15th.
“We have a lot of guys who play aggressively,” Walter said. “Usually, we do well indoors, so we expect to do the same as in previous years.”
As Duke’s highest ranked player, Walter’s first individual test will come in the Blue Devils’ match against No. 52 Old Dominion at home Friday. The junior is likely to face Monarch senior Izak van der Merwe, the nation’s seventh-ranked singles player. Van der Merwe defeated Walter in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships Nov. 5.
“[Van der Merwe] is a good player,” Walter said. “He has a big serve, so that’s a tough match every time.”
Lapidus said Walter has proven himself to be one of the best college players in the nation and expects he and the rest of the Blue Devil squad to have a successful season.
“We have a very talented, deep team with lots of experience,” Lapidus said. “One of our main strengths is going to be the depth we have.”
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