DURHAM, N.C. – Duke men's tennis breezed through its first home matches of the spring season, picking up two 6-1 wins over UNCW and North Carolina A&T on Saturday in the Sheffield Tennis Center.
The Blue Devils improved to 3-0 in dual action while the Seahawks and Aggies were both handed their first loss of the year. Junior Luca Keist claimed two doubles victories while earning two wins in singles action.
"I thought the team performed great in both matches today," senior Nick Stachowiak said. "This is the first season since I've been here that we have a team with depth. Throughout our whole lineup, we have guys on the bench who are fighting for a spot and everyone is very good on our team so it's nice when we get to play everyone and show what they can do."
Match 1
Duke jumped out to an early lead in doubles action as Stachowiak and Garrett Johns defeated UNCW, 6-1, on court two. Playing on court one, Spencer Furman and Keist clinched the doubles point against No. 36 Bruno Caula and Daniel Groom with a 6-3 win.
Heading into singles action with a 1-0 lead, junior Edu Güell only dropped one game as he rolled past UNCW's Leonardo Sprovieri (6-0, 6-1) at No. 3 singles while Samuel Rubell followed with a 6-0, 6-2 victory on court six. Stachowiak cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win on the top court to secure the Blue Devils' second dual victory of the season.
The teams played out the match as Keist earned a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Caula at No. 2 singles and Furman picked up Duke's final point with a 6-4, 6-0 win. Freshman Andrew Zhang notched the first set (6-4) but fell in a super tiebreaker to Davide Innocenti on court five.
Match 2
The Blue Devils carried momentum into the evening match as Omni Kumar and Rubell pulled away with a 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles. Duke took an early 1-0 lead as Keist and Furman notched their second doubles victory of the day (6-1) on court 1.
In singles action, Kumar's 6-1, 6-0 win on court five marks the first of his collegiate career in dual play. Johns made his first appearance on court two where he breezed past Vasil Ivanov (6-2, 6-1) before Michael Heller clinched on court four, winning 6-2 in both sets.
Keist earned his second win of the day and first of the year on court 1 (6-2, 6-1) while Rubell picked up a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles. Samir Agadi battled on court six, dropping the first set in a tiebreak before falling 6-4.
The Blue Devils are back in Sheffield on Monday, Jan. 20 for a 1 p.m. contest versus the Elon Phoenix.
Results vs. UNCW Singles (3, 6, 1*, 2, 4, 5)
1. Nick Stachowiak (DU) def. Austin Hussey (UNCW) 6-1, 6-2
2. Luca Keist (DU) def. Bruno Caula (UNCW) 6-2, 6-2
3. Edu Güell (DU) def. Leonardo Sprovieri (UNCW) 6-0, 6-1
4. Spencer Furman (DU) def. Michael Copeland (UNCW) 6-4, 6-0
5. Davide Innocenti (UNCW) def. #117 Andrew Zhang (DU) 4-6, 6-3, 13-11
6. Samuel Rubell (DU) def. Cole Groetsch (UNCW) 6-0, 6-2 Doubles (2, 1*)
1. Spencer Furman/Luca Keist (DU) def. #36 Bruno Caula/Daniel Groom (UNCW) 6-3
2. Nick Stachowiak/Garrett Johns (DU) def. Michael Copeland/Austin Hussey (UNCW) 6-1
3. #42 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) vs. Dillon Gooch/Cole Groetsch (UNCW) 5-4, unf.
Results vs. North Carolina A&T Singles (5, 2, 4*, 1, 3, 6)
1. Luca Keist (DU) def. Nicolas Arduh (NCAT) 6-2, 6-1
2. Garrett Johns (DU) def. Vasil Ivanov (NCAT) 6-2, 6-1
3. Samuel Rubell (DU) def. Jorge Goenaga (NCAT) 6-0, 6-4
4. Michael Heller (DU) def. Esteban Lopez (NCAT) 6-2, 6-2
5. Omni Kumar (DU) def. Marko Puric (NCAT) 6-1, 6-0
6. Nolan Martino (NCAT) def. Samir Agadi (DU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 Doubles (3,1*)
1. Luca Keist/Spencer Furman (DU) def. Nicolas Arduh/Vasil Ivanov (NCAT) 6-1
2. Garrett Johns/Michael Heller (DU) vs. Jorge Goenaga/Esteban Lopez (NCAT) 5-1, unf.
3. Omni Kumar/Samuel Rubell (DU) def. Marko Puric/Pablo Carranza (NCAT) 6-1