Heller Advances to Final at Lakewood Ranch Dick Vitale Classic

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – Freshman Michael Heller advanced to the consolation final by the way of two wins on Saturday at the Lakewood Ranch Dick Vitale Clay Court Classic at the Lakewood Ranch Tennis Center in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

After dropping his first match in the main draw, Heller strung together three consecutive wins, two on Saturday, to advance to the final of the consolation draw. Heller faces No. 78 Axel Nefve of Notre Dame in the consolation final after winning back to back third set tiebreaks in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Freshman Samuel Rubell advanced to the semifinals of the main draw after defeating Michigan's Harrison Brown 6-4, 7-5 in straight sets. Rubell's run came to an end against three-seed No. 68 Joshua Goodger in the semifinals, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Junior Edu Güell and freshman Garrett Johns fell in the quarterfinals of the main singles draw. Güell fell to the first overall seed No. 31 Andy Andrade of Florida in a tight third set tiebreak. Andrade won the first set in a tiebreak 7-6 (3) before the Blue Devil took the second set 3-6. The tiebreak went down to the wire, with the top-seeded Gator winning 10-8. Johns fell to Goodger in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.

Duke closes the tournament at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Sunday when Heller takes on Nefve in the consolation final.

After the Lakewood Ranch Dick Vitale Clay Court Classic wraps up tomorrow, members of the Blue Devils tennis team are back in action Nov. 6 as doubles tandem Sean Sculley and Nick Stachowiak travel to The Golden State for the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Newport Beach, Calif.

Singles:
Round of 32
Garrett Johns [6] (Duke) def. Brian Berdusco [27] (Florida) 6-0, 6-2
Samuel Rubell [7] (Duke) def. Jack Dabek [26] (U.S. Naval Academy) 6-4, 6-3
Edu Güell [8] (Duke) def. Connor Somers [25] (Notre Dame) 6-0, 6-2
Nick Beaty [12] (Michigan) def. Michael Heller [21] (Duke) 6-4, 6-4

Round of 16
Garrett Johns [6] (Duke) def. William Howells (Notre Dame) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0
Samuel Rubell [7] (Duke) def. Vuk Budic (Illinois) 7-5, 6-3
Edu Güell [8] (Duke) def. Rithvik Bollipalli (South Florida) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (5)

Consolation Round of 16
Michael Heller [12] def. Johnathan Small [5] (Notre Dame) 6-2, 6-1

Quarterfinals
No. 68 Joshua Goodger [3] (Florida) def. Garrett Johns [6] (Duke) 6-3, 6-2
Samuel Rubell [7] (Duke) def. Harrison Brown [15] (Michigan) 6-4, 7-5
No. 31 Andy Andrade [1] (Florida) def. Edu Güell [8] (Duke) 7-6 (3), 3-6, 1-0 (8)

Consolation Quarterfinals
Michael Heller [12] (Duke) def. Alex Bancila [4] (Illinois) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (7)

Semifinals
No. 68 Joshua Goodger def. Samuel Rubell [7] (Duke) 7-6 (5), 6-4

Consolation Semifinals
Michael Heller [12] (Duke) def. Matthew Fung [1] (Louisville) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (6)

Consolation Finals
Michael Heller [12] (Duke) vs. No. 78 Axel Nefve [2] (Notre Dame)

Doubles:
Round of 16
Rana-Roop Singh Buhlar/Sebastian Arcila [11] (Florida State) def. Michael Heller/Samuel Rubell [6] (Duke) 8-2

Quarterfinals
Joshua Goodger/Greysen Cacciatore [8] (Florida) def. Edu Güell/Michael Heller [1] 8-4

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Heller Advances to Final at Lakewood Ranch Dick Vitale Classic

Players Mentioned

Michael Heller

Garrett Johns

Samuel Rubell

Sean Sculley

Nick Stachowiak

Duke information

Heller Advances to Final at Lakewood Ranch Dick Vitale Classic

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Players Mentioned

Michael Heller

Garrett Johns

Samuel Rubell

Sean Sculley

Nick Stachowiak

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Duke information