Blue Devils Take Down No. 19 Illinois, 6-1

Friday, January 31

Durham, N.C.

6 P.M.

Duke University

Illinois

Blue Devils Take Down No. 19 Illinois, 6-1

1/31/2020 10:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. – In front of a packed house, Duke men's tennis knocked off No. 19 Illinois with a strong 6-1 victory on Friday night in the Sheffield Tennis Center.

The Blue Devils continued their undefeated season (6-0) after picking up their first win over Illinois (1-2) since Duke edged the Fighting Illini, 4-3, on Jan. 31, 2015.

Beginning with close doubles competition, freshmen Garrett Johns and Michael Heller finished first with a 6-4 win on court three. Spencer Furman and Luca Keist were handed their first loss of the dual season, falling 7-5 on court two. With the doubles point on the line, No. 11 Nick Stachowiak and Sean Sculley took down Siphosthando Montsi and Gui Gomes, 6-4, to take a 1-0 lead into singles play.

Carrying momentum from doubles, Johns dominated court six with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph to remain unbeaten (6-0) in singles action. With what head coach Ramsey Smith called "a huge statement win," Stachowiak earned his fourth victory of the spring on the top court, defeating Illinois' Aleks Kovacevic (7-6, 6-4). At No. 4 singles, Furman secured the Blue Devils' feat with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Fletcher Scott.

"To show the new guys what this team is about and for Nick to get that win on court one was huge," said Furman. "Starting with the doubles and everyone came through – fighting hard. You could feel the energy out there and it was special to be a part of."

Playing on, Samuel Rubell also picked up his sixth win of the dual season with a victory on court five (6-7, 6-2, 6-3) before Keist fell short in a super tiebreaker to No. 48 Montsi (7-6, 3-6, 10-7) at No. 2. Edu Güell garnered the final point of the match, taking down No. 61 Zeke Clark in another super tiebreaker on court two (7-6, 4-6, 10-6).

"This match was a big confidence booster, but we have to focus as we play a good Northwestern team on Sunday," Furman said. "We have to recover well and get after it on Sunday."

The Blue Devils return to the Sheffield Tennis Center for a 1 p.m. match against the Northwestern Wildcats on Sunday, Feb. 2.

RESULTS
Singles (6,1,4*,5,2,3)
1. Nick Stachowiak (DU) def. Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
2. #48 Siphosothando Montsi (ILL) def. Luca Keist (DU) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 10-7
3. Edu Guell (DU) def. #61 Zeke Clark (ILL) 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 10-6
4. Spencer Furman (DU) def. Fletcher Scott (ILL) 7-5, 6-4
5. Samuel Rubell (DU) def. Vuk Budic (ILL) 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-3
6. Garrett Johns (DU) def. Lucas Horve (ILL) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles (3,2,1*)
1. #11 Nick Stachowiak/Sean Sculley (DU) def. Siphosothando Montsi/Gui Gomes (ILL) 6-4
2. Vuk Budic/Lucas Horve (ILL) def. Spencer Furman/Luca Keist (DU) 7-5
3. Garrett Johns/Michael Heller (DU) def. Zeke Clark/Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) 6-4