Duke faced Florida State twice in the regular season, coming away with losses each time. The Blue Devils hoped the postseason would be different.
It wasn't.
The fourth-seeded Seminoles knocked No. 5 Duke (15-8) out of the ACC tournament with a 4-1 decision Friday in the conference quarterfinals. Florida State (19-7) jumped out to an early lead by taking the top two doubles contests, and it never looked back in advancing to the semifinals, where the Seminoles lost to eventual champion Virginia. The top-seeded Cavaliers defeated No. 3 Wake Forest 4-0 in the final Sunday.
"It was a tough way to end the ACC Tournament," head coach Ramsey Smith said. "The difference seemed to be the doubles point in the way it set the momentum. They got the doubles point and came into the singles with a lot of confidence after beating us a couple of times earlier in the year."
Florida State carried that momentum over to singles, winning the first five sets and taking a 2-0 lead when Chris Cloer defeated freshman Luke Marchese 6-3, 6-1.
Senior Kiril Dimitrov cut the Duke deficit to 2-1 with a win over Clint Bowles, and the Blue Devils were fighting back at Nos. 1 and 4 as well, attempting to complete the comeback. But Duke dropped both matches, and Florida State sealed the 4-1 victory.
"We were a little bit careful in the first sets," Smith said. "We competed great at the end and were close to giving ourselves a chance to come back."
Now the Blue Devils must wait for the NCAA selection show to see if their season will continue. The NCAA tournament starts May 8.
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