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Four Duke Tennis Players Ranked in Preseason ITA Rankings
9/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Durham, N.C. - The Duke men's tennis team had four players ranked among the top 125 singles players in Division I and two doubles pairings listed in the top 60 when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason rankings were released. Highlighting the list is Ludovic Walter, who was ranked second overall in singles and 46th in doubles.
“I am very pleased that we had four guys ranked in the preseason,” said Head Coach Jay Lapidus. “It shows the committee recognizes the depth that we have this year. It is a great thing that Ludovic was ranked so high because he has worked really hard to get to that point.”
Walter, a senior from Vannes, France, finished the 2004 season ranked eighth after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The second place ranking in the preseason matches the highest ranking of Walter's career. He was 2nd in the first computer rankings that came out last season on February 21 and never fell below eighth throughout the year. He finished the season with a 25-10 overall record in singles and a 7-3 mark in the ACC. He was also 16-8 in doubles matches.
Joey Atas, a junior transfer from Ohio State received a preseason ranking of 29th. He compiled a 17-7 record in singles in 2004 and finished 14-5 in doubles. He was ranked 60th in the final rankings last season. His highest ranking of the year came on March 8 when he was ranked 35th in the computer rankings.
Listed at 53rd was Jonathan Stokke, a senior from Chapel Hill, N.C. He finished the 2004 season ranked 95th after recording a 20-12 record in singles competition and a 15-9 mark in doubles. He was also 7-2 in ACC competition. He had his highest career ranking after the fall season last year when he was 52nd.
Peter Rodrigues, a junior from Estoril, Portugal, also received preseason recognition with a ranking of 88th. He had a solid sophomore campaign posting a 24-7 record in singles, including a 7-2 record in conference play. He was 9-5 in doubles matches. He achieved his highest ranking of 80th on March 22 last year.
In doubles the Blue Devils had two pairings ranked in the preseason. Atas and Stokke are ranked 40th and will see their first action as a duo this fall. Walter and Rodrigues were listed at 46th. They also will be teaming up for the first time in 2005.
Duke loses two seniors from the 2004 team that finished ranked eighth in the final ITA rankings. They will begin the fall season when they head to Athens, Ga. for the Southern Intercollegiates from Sept. 23-26.
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