Blue Devils Fall to Northwestern, 4-0

Monday, January 25

Chapel Hill, N.C. / Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center

10 a.m.

Duke University

Northwestern

Blue Devils Fall to Northwestern, 4-0

1/25/2021 2:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 23 Duke men's tennis closed out the ITA Kickoff Weekend with a 4-0 loss to Northwestern on Monday in the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center on the campus of North Carolina.

The Blue Devils open their dual season at 0-2 following the action this weekend while Northwestern improves to 1-1.

Edu Güell and Andrew Zhang began doubles action with a 6-3 victory on court three, marking their fourth win of the 2021 season and first in a dual match. Northwestern edged the Blue Devils on court two (6-4), forcing the doubles decision to come down to court one. In a back-and-forth battle, No. 57 Simen Bratholm and Nick Brookes outlasted No. 55 Sean Sculley and Garrett Johns for the 7-5 win.

Northwestern entered singles play with the 1-0 advantage and would earn the next three singles points before clinching that match at 4-0. Court four finished first as Trice Pickens used a 6-1, 6-4 win over Zhang to expand the Wildcats' lead to 2-0. Set two on court five was gritty as Samuel Rubell forced a tiebreak after falling 6-1 in the first set, but Bratholm came back in the tiebreak to win the match (6-1, 7-6 [7]).

Michael Heller fought in the second set but couldn't overcome Northwestern's Presley Thieneman, falling short 6-2, 7-5 on court six.

Matches on courts one, two and three went unfinished. Johns dropped the first set in a tiebreaker (7-6 [3]) and was tied at 3-3 in the second on Duke's top court versus No. 58 Dominik Stary. Güell claimed set one (6-4) but dropped set two before trailing 3-0 in the third. Sculley picked up a set-one victory (6-4) before the match went unfinished at 4-4.

The Blue Devils seek their first win this weekend as Duke hosts Campbell at 4:30 p.m. on Friday before welcoming UNC Wilmington on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. All matches this weekend will be closed to the public per Duke Athletics COVID-19 protocol.

RESULTS
Singles (4,5,6*)
1. Garrett Johns (Duke) vs. #58 Dominik Stary (NW) 6-7 (3-7), 3-3, unfinished
2. Edu Guell (Duke) vs. Nick Brookes (NW) 6-4, 4-6, 0-3, unfinished
3. Sean Sculley (Duke) vs. Chris Ephron (NW) 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
4. Trice Pickens (NW) def. Andrew Zhang (Duke) 6-1, 6-4
5. Simen Bratholm (NW) def. Samuel Rubell (Duke) 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)
6. Presley Thieneman (NW) def. Michael Heller (Duke) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles (3,2,1*)
1. #57 Simen Bratholm/Nick Brookes (NW) def. #55 Sean Sculley/Garrett Johns (Duke) 7-5
2. Chris Ephron/Gleb Blekher (NW) def. #46 Luca Keist/Michael Heller (Duke) 6-4
3. Edu Guell/Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. Natan Spear/Presley Thieneman (NW) 6-3

#GoDuke