Duke Tops Liberty, 5-2, in Midweek Clash

Wednesday, March 31

Durham, N.C.

3 p.m.

Duke University

Liberty

Duke Tops Liberty, 5-2, in Midweek Clash

3/31/2021 8:25:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – No. 41 Duke remained unbeaten at home Wednesday afternoon following its 5-2 victory over No. 40 Liberty at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

The Blue Devils improve to 8-7 on the year and conclude their out-of-conference slate with a 5-4 mark. The Flames, who brought a five-match winning streak into the contest, drop to 13-6 overall.

Liberty's Josh Wilson and Steve Mundt defeated Edu Güell and Luca Keist, 6-3, on court three to begin doubles action on Wednesday. Duke's nationally ranked doubles duo of Sean Sculley and Garrett Johns evened things out though when they beat Christiaan Worst and Deji Thomas-Smith on the main court, 6-4. With the doubles point relaying on the outcome of court two, Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang earned the doubles point for the Blue Devils and their second victory as a pair after they took down Rafael Marques Da Silva and Nicaise Muamba, 6-3.

Duke turned that 1-0 edge into a 3-0 lead two matches into singles action. Keist and No. 119 Zhang made quick work of Thando Longwe-Smit and Worst, respectively. Keist finished first on court five, registering a 6-3, 6-2 win over Longwe-Smit. Zhang followed suit with his team-leading 10th win of the year after a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Worst on court four.

The Flames would not go down without a fight though, pulling within 3-2 after winning the next two singles matches. No. 115 Johns fell to No. 82 Muamba on the main court 6-3, 6-2. Goncalo Ferreira then edged Samuel Rubell 6-3 in the first set before recording a 7-5 win in the second.

Fortunately, Sculley, who was the next finisher on the day, clinched the overall match for Duke on court two when he defeated Marques Da Silva 7-5, 6-2. The Blue Devils saw one final victory on court three when No. 102 Güell bested Thomas-Smith in a super tiebreaker. Thomas-Smith garnered the 6-4 win in the opening set but Güell rallied back for the 7-5 victory in the second. With the match already secured for Duke, the two competed in a shortened frame with Güell earning the 1-0 (7) super tiebreaker win.

The Blue Devils get back into ACC action Friday when they welcome Boston College for a 3 p.m. match at Ambler Tennis Stadium. Live stats and video will be available for Friday's contest.

RESULTS
Singles (5,4,1,6,2*,3)
1. #82 Nicaise Muamba (LIBERTY) def. #115 Garrett Johns (DU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Sean Sculley (DU) def. R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTY) 7-5, 6-2
3. #102 Edu Güell (DU) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTY) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7)
4. #119 Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Christiaan Worst (LIBERTY) 6-1, 6-3
5. Luca Keist (DU) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTY) 6-3, 6-2
6. Goncalo Ferreira (LIBERTY) def. Samuel Rubell (DU) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles (3,1,2*)
1. #15 Sean Sculley/Garrett Johns (DU) def. Christiaan Worst/Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTY) 6-4
2. Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. R. Marques Da Silva/Nicaise Muamba (LIBERTY) 6-3
3. Josh Wilson/Steve Mundt (LIBERTY) def. Edu Güell/Luca Keist (DU) 6-3

#GoDuke