Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus ITA All-American Championship on September 20, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs ITA All-American Championship
Sunday, November 6
Flushing, N.Y.
All Day
Duke University
vs
Day Four at USTA/ITA National Indoor
Duke Takes Two Titles in Fall Finales
11/6/2016 5:05:00 PM | Men's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke men's tennis team ended its fall season in style Sunday, capturing a pair of championships with junior Nicolas Alvarez and freshman Robert Levine winning their matches. Alvarez claimed the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship (NIIC) consolation title while Levine took home the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic singles championship in Florida.
“Obviously I am extremely pleased with the way we finished our fall season,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “We won four titles in the last three weeks and received breakthrough performances this weekend from Nico and Robert.”
Alvarez, ranked No. 14 in the preseason Oracle/ITA poll, cruised past No. 6 Tom Fawcett of Stanford, 6-4, 6-1. Alvarez, who dropped his first set in the consolation bracket on Friday, rebounded to win his final eight sets at the fall's premier event. He is the first Blue Devil to win the NIIC consolation bracket.
It was Alvarez's second career triumph versus Fawcett as he also captured a 6-4, 6-0 victory on court one in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Round of 32, helping Duke to the Round of 16 with a 4-1 team win. Alvarez finished his fall with a 9-4 record, including a 3-4 record versus ranked opponents.
“Nico lost in the first round Thursday and was down a set in the first round of the consolation draw before going on a tear and winning eight sets in a row against some of the top players in the nation,” Smith added. “I am so happy for Nico to finish his fall on such a high note playing great tennis.”
Levine took the title by capturing his second three-set affair of the weekend, downing No. 2 seed Alexandru Gozun of USF, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-4. Levine was the draw's top seed and finished with his first career championship. He capped his initial fall with an 11-5 mark, tied with classmate Nick Stachowiak for the most wins on the squad.
“Everything came together this weekend for Robert,” Smith said. “It was special watching him battle for his first title as a Blue Devil. He showed a lot of heart and resilience this weekend. He was a great competitor out there, especially today in the finals. This will be huge for his confidence.”
The Blue Devils return to action in January for the Hills Family Hawai'i trip. Duke will be in Waikiki from January 7-13 to open the spring portion of the campaign.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
PLAYER
/ Men's Tennis
PLAYER
/ Men's Tennis
PLAYER
/ Men's TennisCoach Ramsey win vs NCState ACC Tourney 4/18/25
Friday, April 18
Coach Ramsey Win vs UND ACC Tournament 4/17/25
Thursday, April 17
Duke vs. Virginia: Coach Smith Post-Match Interview
Saturday, March 01
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
