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Duke gives Smith a win in debut

Duke gave first-year head coach Ramsey Smith a win in his coaching debut, as the Blue Devils swept Elon 7-0 Thursday at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

The Blue Devils took all three doubles matches for the first point of the night, then took every singles match in straight sets to seal the dominant victory.

Junior Dylan Arnould clinched the win with a 6-2, 6-2 win at third singles after Jared Pinsky and Torsten Wietoska had given Duke points at fourth and fifth singles, respectively.

"That was pretty much the perfect start," Smith said of his team's first four matches. "I am not sure I could have asked for anything more of the guys. Doubles looked really good and in singles we put the pedal down and never let up. Everyone competed great and the intensity was perfect."

Alain Michel took the Blue Devils' fifth win at sixth singles, while Reid Carleton and Kiril Dimitrov won at first and second singles, respectively, to end the match and send Smith home a winner.

"It is really neat having played here, and I can clearly remember my first match as a player not too many years ago," he said. "I remember my first match as an assistant coach and I will certainly remember this one. It is a pretty special moment and I am excited to get this year going."

Duke returns to the courts Saturday at 6 p.m. against Virginia Commonwealth.

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