Making their dual match debut, a trio of Blue Devil freshmen delivered strong performances to make a statement in Duke's first contest of 2016.
The No. 13 Blue Devils kicked off the spring season with a 6-1 win against Elon at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center Friday night. After claiming the doubles point early, Duke secured five out of six singles matches en route to a landslide victory.
“I thought it was a very good first match for us," Duke head coach Ramsey Smith said. “We implemented a lot of things we have been working on in this past week. [We] started off strong in doubles, and really focused on the control balls. I thought we did a good job, started with a win and I am happy with how we look overall.”
In the doubles matches, Smith paired up one freshman with one upperclassman in each lineup, taking full advantage of the fresh blood on the team. The strategy paid off, as victories on each court put Duke (1-0) ahead 1-0 early in the match.
Sophomore captain Nicolas Alvarez and freshman Vincent Lin dominated Elon's Petar Tomic and Chris Humphreys 6-1, and junior captain T. J. Pura and freshman Catalin Mateas defeated Robert Lindgren and Mario Paccini by the same score. The tandem of Josh Levine and Ryan Dickerson started slow but found their rhythm later in the game. After tying the score at 3-3, they went on to defeat Neal Port and Salvador Mijares 6-3.
“It’s never easy [in] the first dual match. I remember my first dual match, getting some extra nerves. But I thought they all came out and played [well]," Smith said. “They didn’t look like freshmen, which is probably a good thing. So I am extremely happy with them…it’s about as good a start as you can have for them.”
The three freshmen kept their momentum from doubles flowing into the singles matches. On court six, Dickerson cruised through two sets 6-0, 6-2 against Felipe Osses-Konig, and Mateas dispatched Lindgren 6-3, 7-5 at No. 4 singles.
At No. 3 singles, Lin struggled against the bigger Tomic in the first set. The match went back and forth in the first 10 games, Lin claimed a 6-5 lead before breaking Tomic’s serve and finished the set 7-5. The Schaumburg, Ill., native then topped the junior again 6-2 in the second set to seal the Blue Devils’ victory, 4-0.
“We really brought the energy [into] this match. I’ve never experienced anything like it," Lin said.
Compared to the rookies, Duke's veterans took longer to finish up their matchups, except for Alvarez, who sent off Elon freshman Felipe Sarrasague 6-3, 6-1 from court one with powerful and accurate serves. At No. 5 singles, Levine won the first set 6-2, but fell to Mijares 3-6 in the next frame. The decisive set went in Levines' favor, 6-2, and extended the lead to 6-0.
At No. 2 singles, Pura battled against Paccini, a strong baseline hitter and tireless runner. After falling 3-6 in the first set, Pura bounced back to dominate the second set and evened the score. But he could not sustain the effort in the third set and lost to Paccini 3-6 once again.
With one win under its belt, Duke will host Kentucky Sunday at 1 p.m.
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