In an ACC tournament semifinal matchup against No. 1-seed Virginia Saturday, the fourth-seeded Blue Devils looked to avenge last season’s ACC and NCAA tournament losses to the Cavaliers. But a hard-fought effort that began by taking the doubles points fell short with an eventual 4-1 loss.
The Blue Devils started off strong Friday with a dominant 4-1 victory against No. 7 Wake Forest, before falling to No. 16 NC State by a score of 4-2 Sunday.
After taking the doubles point, the 17th-ranked Blue Devils won four of the six singles matches, clinching the 5-2 victory.
Duke beat the Fighting Irish 5-2, and its dominance began with its doubles play: The Blue Devils took the lead from the start and did not look back.
The Cavaliers once again proved to be an Achilles’ heel, besting the home squad 6-1 in a hard-fought match Sunday afternoon, just two days after Duke took down Virginia Tech.
On a rainy Friday afternoon, Duke defeated Clemson in a narrow 4-3 match, decided by a grueling three-set battle on court 1. Two days later, the Blue Devils faced off against Georgia Tech, falling in a decisive 6-1 loss.
An extremely difficult nonconference slate concluded for No. 13 Duke with a trip to Cambridge, Mass., to compete against two local schools.
An impressive Duke squad headed into the weekend undefeated, but they had yet to be tested on the road. After two tough matches, they took the long trip home, no longer as an undefeated team.
Duke continued its impressive start to the new season with back-to-back 4-0 wins against No. 23 N.C. State and Middle Tennessee during the ITA Kickoff Weekend. With these dominant victories, the Blue Devils moved on to the National Team Indoor Champions in New York for the first time since 2018.
After a historic 22-7 season featuring a trip to both the ACC championship and the Sweet 16 — losing to eventual national champion Virginia in both — Duke is primed for another deep postseason run. The eighth-ranked team by ITA has the majority of its squad returning, including the entire starting singles lineup.
After a lot of anticipation, the 2024 dual-match tennis season is officially underway for No. 8 Duke. The Blue Devils concluded their opening weekend on a positive note, defeating Princeton 4-3 and N.C. Central 7-0.
It was an exciting start of the season for Duke, as the team won its first match against a competitive VCU team Saturday. The Blue Devils managed to pull through 4-3 after junior Jake Krug won the tie-breaking game in a crucial third set.
Freshman Pedro Rodenas remarkably advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Singles Championships, while senior Garrett Johns fell in the first round. They teamed up in doubles and advanced to the round of 16 as well.
Duke struggled to gain any sense of momentum against the Cavaliers, losing 4-0 amid rain delays and thunderstorms.
Every week, the Blue Zone breaks down an outstanding spring athlete, looking at their weekly performance and their season as a whole. Up next is Pedro Rodenas.
The Blue Devils swept their weekend with confident wins against UNC Wilmington and Cornell for their first Sweet 16 berth since 2015.
On Monday, head coach Ramsey Smith and freshman Pedro Rodenas earned ACC Coach of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year distinctions, respectively, while senior Garrett Johns was named to the All-ACC singles first team and the All-ACC doubles first team alongside Rodenas.
Duke's ACC run came to an end Sunday, as the top-seeded Cavaliers took the doubles point and controlled singles to claim the crown.
Thanks to Dale's heroics on court five and a spirited singles effort by the Blue Devils as a whole, head coach Ramsey Smith's team is headed back to the ACC tournament final for the first time since 2012.
After a Friday triumph at home against Miami, No. 13 Duke flaunted its on-court brilliance with a 4-3 win against No. 19 Florida State Sunday evening at Ambler Tennis Stadium.
