Playing their fourth conference match in the last seven days, the Blue Devils fell to in-state rival Wake Forest Wednesday 4-3 in Winston-Salem.
Duke (5-9, 2-2 in the ACC) has now lost two straight contests in conference play after starting its ACC schedule 2-0.
The Blue Devils opened play solidly against the Demon Deacons, taking the doubles point 2-1. Duke's top doubles pair, David Goulet and Christopher Price, lost a close 9-7 decision, but the second-seeded duo of Reid Carleton and Kiril Dimitrov evened the score.
Senior Alex Stone and sophomore Dylan Arnould then combined to earn the point for the Blue Devils with a 9-7 victory of their own.
In singles play, though, Duke struggled, especially near the bottom of its rotation. Goulet, Duke's top seed, earned a straight-set victory over Cory Parr. But the Blue Devils then dropped three straight matches at the two, four and five lines to give the Demon Deacons a one-point advantage. Carleton, a freshman from Naples, Fla., tied the score after pulling out a tough three-setter.
For the sixth time this season, the match's overall result came down to a final singles contest, this time between No. 6 seeds Jared Pinsky and Andrew Brasseaux. Duke's Pinsky dropped the first set 6-1, and ultimately lost the second in a tiebreaker to give Wake Forest the victory.
Wednesday's dual match marked the Blue Devils' eighth straight on the road, a stretch that has lasted the entire month of March. Duke takes on Boston College Friday and Maryland Sunday, both on the road, before returning home for the month of April.
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