Blue Devils Fall at Florida State, 5-2

Sunday, March 13

Tallahassee, Fla.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Florida State

Blue Devils Fall at Florida State, 5-2

3/13/2016 3:56:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The No. 66 Duke men's tennis team ended its weekend road trip with a 5-2 loss at No. 51 Florida State on Sunday at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center. The Blue Devils trailed 3-0 before earning wins on courts four and six from junior TJ Pura and senior Josh Levine to cut the deficit to 3-2. The match came down to three-set decisions on courts one and three, where Florida State came back to earn both victories after dropping the first sets on both courts.

The Seminoles (11-4, 3-1 ACC) swept the doubles point with victories on all three courts, starting with a 6-1 win on court one. The No. 26 FSU tandem of Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez defeated sophomore Nicolas Alvarez and freshman Vincent Lin. The Blue Devil duo falls to 4-6 and 0-3 in league action.

Court three gave Florida State the point with a 6-3 victory by Jose Gracia and Terrance Whitehurst against freshman Ryan Dickerson and Levine. The Seminoles got an early break and led 2-0 and 3-1 before the Bue Devils cut the deficit to 3-2. Florida State went up 4-2 and held on for the win. Dickerson and Levine dip to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in ACC matches.

Rounding out the action was a 6-4 win by Aziz Dougaz and Michael Rinaldi against freshman Jason Lapidus and senior Daniel McCall on court two. The Florida State duo went ahead 2-1 and extended the advantage to 4-2. Duke got a game back for a 4-3 deficit, but could not force a tie before the Seminoles closed out the match. Lapidus and McCall are now 4-3 overall and 0-2 against ACC foes.

Florida State made it a 2-0 advantage early in singles as No. 97 Nunez defeated Lin 6-2, 6-4 on court two. After dropping the first set, Lin played a very close second set. Nunez led 2-1 before Lin took a 3-2 advantage. With the set tied 4-4, Nunez broke and held to pick up the victory. It was Lin's first career match on court two and he is now 17-12 overall and 2-1 in league action. His team-long six-match winning streak was also snapped in the process.

The Seminoles took a seemingly commanding 3-0 lead with Gracia's 6-2, 6-2 win against Dickerson on court five. Dickerson fell behind 4-1 in the opening set and Gracia held him off to capture the set. In the second set, Gracia was ahead 1-0 and 2-1 before rattling off wins in four of the next five games to secure the win. Dickerson slips to 9-8 overall, 7-3 in dual matches and 1-2 in ACC play.

The Blue Devils began their rally on court four, where Pura stormed back to defeat Dougaz 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. With the opening set tied 3-3, Dougaz had a late push and captured three of the final four games for the set. In the second set, Pura jumped out to a 2-0 advantage and never looked back, leading 4-1 and 5-2 before closing out the set. Pura marched through the third set with a 3-0 start in completing the comeback. Pura pushed his winning streak to four, his overall record to 10-9 and ACC mark to 3-0.

Duke (7-8, 1-2 ACC) cut the deficit to 3-2 with Levine, who was playing his first singles match since February 13, winning a three-set fight with Whitehurst, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, on court six. Levine trailed 4-3 in the first set and got no closer as Whitehurst held on for the win. The second set was tight at the beginning with the two tied 1-1 and Levine up 3-2. Levine then won consecutive games to go up 5-2 and hold off Whitehurst. Levine then blitzed the third set to earn his 11th win of the campaign. He is 11-9 overall and 4-5 in dual matches.

Florida State picked up its clinching point on court three, with Rinaldi coming back to defeat freshman Catalin Mateas 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. The first set was tight throughout and tied at 3-3 and 5-5 before Mateas took the final two games for the set. Rinaldi returned the favor in the second set with even play until he captured the last two for a 7-5 win. In the third set, Mateas was broken and fell behind 2-1 before breaking back to even the set at 2-2. The two exchanged games and were even at 3-3 before Rinaldi broke again, held and broke to finish the match. Mateas falls to 9-6 and 0-3 in ACC play.

The Seminoles added their final point on court one as No. 30 Lock topped No. 20 Alvarez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. In the first set, Alvarez led 3-2 before extending the advantage to 5-3 and finishing off the set. In the second set, the two were tied at every point through five before Lock took the final two games to win 7-5. The third set had the two even at points one through three before Lock took the last three games to end the match. Alvarez falls to 11-11 overall, 1-2 in league action and 7-9 against nationally ranked foes this season.

Duke returns to action Friday at Notre Dame for a 3:30 p.m. match.

#51 Forida State 5, #66 Duke 2
March 13, 2016 at Tallahassee, Fla. (Scott Speicher Tennis Center)

Doubles competition
1. #26 Benjamin Lock/Marco Nunez (FS) def. Nicolas Alvarez/Vincent Lin (DU) 6-1
2. Aziz Dougaz/Michael Rinaldi (FS) def. Jason Lapidus/Daniel McCall (DU) 6-4
3. Jose Gracia/Terrance Whitehurst (FS) def. Ryan Dickerson/Josh Levine (DU) 6-3

Singles competition
1. #30 Benjamin Lock (FS) def. #20 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. #97 Marco Nunez (FS) def. Vincent Lin (DU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Michael Rinaldi (FS) def. Catalin Mateas (DU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
4. TJ Pura (DU) def. Aziz Dougaz (FS) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Jose Gracia (FS) def. Ryan Dickerson (DU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Josh Levine (DU) def. Terrance Whitehurst (FS) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0

Match Notes:
Duke 7-8, 1-2 ACC; National ranking #66
Florida State 11-4, 2-1 ACC; National ranking #51
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,5,4,6,3,1)
T-3:27 A-123

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