Duke is hungry for victory. After starting the season ranked 19th, the Blue Devils have fallen out of the Top 25. A win against No. 4 Texas (11-1) at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center Friday at 2 p.m., however, could change that fact.
“[Texas] is good and they are going to play well and make their runs, but when it comes down to crunch time and we’re in position to win, we have to move forward,” assistant coach Josh Goffi said.
In recent years, Duke (5-2) has struggled to prevail in the crucial moments against high-quality opponents. In fact, no player on the current roster has ever taken part in a victory over a top five opponent, Goffi said.
“A lot of teams that haven’t been used to winning against the top five teams, what they do when they get to a turning point is they tend to go backwards, so that’s kind of where we’re at right now,” Goffi admitted.
And the Longhorns will certainly provide the Blue Devils with a difficult challenge. In particular, Texas’s depth across singles and doubles will put pressure on all of Duke’s players to play at a high level.
While Goffi and head coach Ramsey Smith are confident their players have the talent to defeat the Longhorns, they have stressed the mental aspect of the game this week in practice.
“Everything is right on cue to have a good win here,” Goffi said. “What we’re prepping our guys with is the mentality going into the match and the mentality during the match.”
One thing working in Duke’s favor is that, because the temperature is forecasted to be below 50 degrees today, the match will be played in Sheffield rather than the outdoor Ambler Tennis Stadium. Texas, which has been practicing outdoors, is upset about this change and will have to cope with a hostile crowd indoors.
“[Against] Illinois, we must have had 700 people come out here indoors. It was loud and crazy,” Goffi said.
Goffi urged students to come out to the game, located right next to Krzyzewskiville, and support the team.
“[Playing in Sheffield] definitely helps our guys,” Goffi said. “[A large crowd] lets the momentum roll on our side… [and] carries us through tough times, those defining moments in a match where you push forward or fall backwards.”
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