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Men?s Tennis Begins Fall Season This Weekend
9/17/2015 11:15:00 AM | Men's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. – Coming off a 24th consecutive NCAA Team Championship appearance and fifth Round of 16 trip in the last six years, the Duke men's tennis team begins its fall season this weekend.
The Blue Devils will be in two different places during the opening weekend as sophomore Nicolas Alvarez will take part in the inaugural Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Masters and the rest of the squad will be in Cary, N.C., for the Duke James Bonk Invite.
Led by head coach Ramsey Smith, who is entering his eighth season at the helm, Duke returns five student-athletes from a team that finished the season 10th in the final ITA team rankings. It was the third time in the last four years the Blue Devils ended the campaign ranked among the top 10 programs in the country.
The 2015-16 squad will be guided by seniors Josh Levine and Daniel McCall, along with junior TJ Pura, Alvarez and sophomore Andrew DeJoy. Smith's squad will feature six newcomers this year.
“It has been a good start to the fall,” Smith said. “I'm anxious to get out there and see how the guys perform. We have a really good group of newcomers. They're all working hard. They are really passionate about tennis and committed to getting better.”
Alvarez has been invited to the Oracle/ITA Masters as one of the top 16 players in the country. He is guaranteed to take part in two matches at the Malibu Racquet Club in Malibu, Calif. Last year, Alvarez had one of the best freshman campaigns in program history and was named an All-American. He became Duke's 21st All-America honoree and ended the year year ranked No. 11 in the final Oracle/ITA poll. The 2015 ITA Carolina Region Player to Watch, Alvarez also earned first team All-ACC honors and a pair of ACC Player of the Week awards. He posted a 31-11 overall singles record with all 11 losses coming against nationally ranked opponents.
“Nico is really mature for his age,” Smith said. “Last year was a process of getting better. The results showed and he had a heck of a freshman year. This summer he actually dedicated a lot of time to getting a little fitter and working through injuries. He's healthy now and ready to go.”
Seven Blue Devils will take part in the Duke Bonk Invitational, named after Dr. James Bonk, a former Duke chemistry professor and assistant tennis coach. The event will be held at the Cary Tennis Park from Friday to Sunday. Freshmen Adrian Chamdani, Jason Lapidus and Vincent Lin will make their Duke debuts this weekend while Levine, McCall, Pura and DeJoy will play their first matches of the fall.
“Our returning guys have stepped into leadership roles a little more,” Smith added. “It's early, but overall I like the way we're gelling together as a team. This weekend we have a chance to implement a lot of the things we've been working on so far this fall.”
Last year, Duke went 24-7 and reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth consecutive season, the second longest streak in program history, behind only 10 such campaigns from 1992-2001.
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