Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus ITA Regional Championship on October 16, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs ITA Regional Championship
Friday, January 31
Durham, N.C.
6 P.M.
Duke University
vs
Illinois
Duke Hosts No. 19 Illinois, Northwestern
1/30/2020 3:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Match 6
Duke vs. No. 19 Illinois – Jan. 31, 2020
Live Results | Watch
Match 7
Duke vs. Northwestern – Feb. 2, 2020
Live Results | Watch
 Duke vs. No. 19 Illinois – Jan. 31, 2020
Live Results | Watch
Match 7
Duke vs. Northwestern – Feb. 2, 2020
Live Results | Watch
DURHAM, N.C. – Opening the season with a 5-0 record, Duke men's tennis welcomes its toughest opponents thus far, No. 19 Illinois and Northwestern, this weekend in the Sheffield Tennis Center.
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HISTORY WITH ILLINOIS
Dating back to 1966, this will be the 27th match between Illinois and Duke as the Fighting Illini lead the all-time series, 19-7. The two programs most recently played on Feb. 1, 2019 in Urbana, Ill., where the Blue Devils dropped a 6-1 decision.
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SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Dropping its season opener to Ole Miss (4-3) during the ITA Kickoff Weekend, the Fighting Illini are off to a 1-1 start while moving to 19th in the latest Oracle/ITA rankings. Illinois has three ranked singles players in No. 11 Alex Brown, No. 48 Siphosothando Montsi and No. 61 Zeke Clark as well as one ranked doubles pair with No. 26 Brown/Aleks Kovacevic. Following a 19-9 mark in 2019 and strong fall performances from Brown, Clark, Montsi and Kovacevic, head coach Brad Dancer's team landed at No. 13 in the preseason poll.
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HISTORY WITH NORTHWESTERN
Duke holds an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series with Northwestern as the two teams have faced off for the last five consecutive seasons. Battling it out on the road in Evanston, Ill., the Wildcats edged the Blue Devils, 4-3, on Feb. 3, 2019. The previous year, Duke blanked Northwestern after clinching the match at 4-0 (Feb. 4, 2018).
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SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Opening the season with a 3-1 mark at home in Evanston, the Wildcats make their first road trip with an ACC doubleheader – playing at Louisville on Friday before traveling to Durham to face the Blue Devils on Sunday. Northwestern has already seen action against an ACC opponent, falling 4-1 against NC State on Jan. 17. In the most recent Oracle/ITA singles rankings, Steven Forman was ranked 123rd while Nick Brookes followed at 125th.
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WHAT SMITH IS SAYING
"We are really looking forward to some great opportunities this weekend," head coach Ramsey Smith said. "The team has done a good job putting in the work and building positive momentum in the early stages of the spring season. The guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now, and we've had another great week of practice. This is really the fun part of college tennis – Friday night home matches against top teams."
FRIDAY FUN FOR FANS
Fans – come out for free pizza and rally towels (75) while supplies last! Those in attendance will also have a chance to win a tennis racquet in the ball toss challenge between doubles and singles action. Friday night will be a tent check as well as a Royal Blue Match!
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DOUBLES DUOS
Through the first five dual matches, Duke has not given up a single set while earning the doubles point in each match. No. 11 Nick Stachowiak and Sean Sculley played together for the first time this spring against Campbell, picking up a 6-4 win. Spencer Furman and Luca Keist have gone 3-0 in doubles play with all wins coming on court one.
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SINGLES DEPTH
Smith has shown his team's depth early on in spring action as nearly every Blue Devils has played a singles match. Stachowiak has gone unbeaten (3-0) on the top court while Garrett Johns and Samuel Rubell have gone 5-0 on various courts.
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UP NEXT
Following this weekend's action, Duke welcomes two top-25 opponents with No. 16 Tennessee on Friday, Feb. 7 before facing No. 24 Kentucky on Sunday, Feb. 9 in the Sheffield Tennis Center. The Blue Devils match versus the Volunteers will begin at 6 p.m. while Sunday's match is slated for a 1 p.m. start against the Wildcats.
#GoDuke
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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