Duke Falls To Stanford, 4-0, In NCAA Sweet 16

Saturday, May 20

Stanford, Calif.

6 p.m.

Duke University

Stanford - Round of 16

Atas & Stokke Advances to Quarterfinals of NCAA Doubles Championships

Duke Falls To Stanford, 4-0, In NCAA Sweet 16

5/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

PALO ALTO, Calif. ? The No. 5 Duke tennis team made an exit from the 2006 NCAA Tournament Saturday with a loss to Stanford in the Sweet 16. Host Stanford claimed the doubles point and three straight singles matches to walk away with the 4-0 win and advance to the Elite Eight, where it will play Baylor at 3 p.m. PDT Sunday. Duke closes the 2006 season with a 22-7 record, having won five consecutive matches heading into Saturday's Round of 16.

“They came out in doubles playing very well,” said head coach Jay Lapidus. “They just stayed solid through every position. They were sound throughout their lineup, they won in doubles, and they have the home court -- it all adds up to them being pretty tough.”

Jonathan Stokke and Joey Atas, ranked 17th in the country, fell 8-1 at No. 1doubles to No. 16 K.C. Cokery and James Pade. Starting with a 3-0 deficit, the Blue Devil pair fought back to win one game, but that would be their only point in the match.

Stephen Amritraj and Peter Rodrigues and Ned Samuelson and Ludovic Walter played similar matches on courts two and three, and at one point, both Blue Devil tandems faced 2-5 scores. Samuelson and Walter rebounded with five straight winning games against Jon Wong and James Wan and led 7-6 when Stanford clinched the doubles point on the middle court. Amritraj and Rodrigues had pulled within 5-7, but Blake Muller and Matt Bruch were able to win the final game for an 8-5 score.

Amritraj and Rodrigues finish the year with a 16-8 record from the No. 2 position, but Atas and Stokke will continue play together in the individual doubles championship, starting Wednesday at Stanford. The pair are currently 14-9 in dual matches this year.

Stanford one five first sets on the six courts to open singles play and finished off the match with straight-set wins at Nos. three, two and four. In both of his sets on court three, 67th-ranked Rodrigues forced ties at 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4 against Pade before losing the last two games for a 6-4, 6-4 match score in Pade's favor. Rodrigues finished the year with the second fewest losses on the team and best winning percentage after compiling a 23-5 dual record.

After the decision at No. 3, courts two and four finished almost in unison. At No. 2, 46th-ranked Stokke fought through an injury suffered less than a week ago in the second round but came up short against No. 16 Matt Bruch. Bruch won 6-3 in the first set, and after being down 3-1 in the second, Stokke tried to come back, eventually pulling within one at 4-5, but Bruch was able to pull out a 6-4 win. Stokke is 29-19 overall this year and 14-12 in dual matches, and he will have a chance to compete in the individual singles championships next week.

Almost at the same time, No. 66 Wan defeated Atas with a score that was the reverse of Stokke's, 6-4, 6-3 on the opposite side of the stadium at No. 4. Atas finishes the year with a 15-8 dual ledger.

Stephen Amritraj came just short of putting Duke on the scoreboard. The senior was the only Blue Devil to win his first set with a 6-4 score against Phil Kao at No. 6, and he led 4-1 when the match ended. Duke's Kiril Dimitrov lost his first set 6-3, but was up 4-3 in the second, and similarly, No. 5 Walter lost 6-4 in the first set but was leading 3-1 in the second at the No. 1 position.

No. 13 Stanford will face fifth-seeded and fourth-ranked Baylor at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Taube Stadium on Stanford's campus. Duke's Walter, Stokke and doubles pair of Stokke and Atas will resume play Wednesday at Stanford for the individual championships. Walter is seeded fifth in the NCAA Singles Championships.

NCAA Men's Tennis - Round of 16
May 20, 2006
Taube Tennis Center * Stanford, CA
Doubles
1. KC Corkery and James Pade-16 (S) def. Joey Atas and Jonathan Stokke-17 (D), 8-1
2. Blake Muller and Matt Bruch (S) def. Stephen Amritraj and Peter Rodrigues (D), 8-5
3. Ned Samuelson and Ludovic Walter (D) led Jon Wong and James Wan (S), 7-6 ? DNF
Order of finish: 1, 2

Singles
1. KC Corkery-25 (S) led Ludovic Walter-5 (D), 6-4, 1-3 ? DNF
2. Matt Bruch-16 (S) def. Jonathan Stokke-46 (D), 6-3, 6-4
3. James Pade (S) def. Peter Rodrigues-67 (D), 6-4, 6-4
4. James Wan-66 (S) def. Joey Atas (D), 6-4, 6-3
5. Blake Muller (S) led Kiril Dimitrov (D), 6-3, 3-4 ? DNF
6. Stephen Amritraj (D) led Phil Kao (S), 6-4, 4-1 ? DNF
Order of finish: 3, 2, 4