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.
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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.
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"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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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