Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis at Boston College on March 8, 2026 at 10 a.m.
/
10 a.m.
Men's Tennis
at Boston College
Tennis Teams Present Annual Awards
5/4/2022 11:10:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
DURHAM – The men's and women's tennis teams named their Charles Hamilton Hargrave Most Valuable Players for the 2021-22 campaign on the Ambler Tennis Courts.
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In the sixth year presenting the awards, junior Chloe Beck earned the honor on the women's side, while junior Garrett Johns won for the men.
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The men's team also presented the fourth annual Robert C. Taylor Leadership Award to junior Andrew Zhang.
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Charles Hamilton Hargrave was one of the first men's team captains for Duke, lettering in 1927-28. His family wanted to keep his memory alive within the Blue Devil tennis program and endowed the MVP award in his name.
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The Lucile and Clarence Dragert Charitable Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas enabled the leadership award in Robert C. Taylor's name. Taylor was a 1949 Duke graduate and member of the tennis program. Taylor was President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon as an undergraduate and received his degree from Duke Law School in 1952. Taylor, who went on to become a tax attorney and public servant in the Dallas area, received the Charles A. Duke Award in 2008 for his longstanding support and service to the school.
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Checking in at No. 9 in the ITA singles rankings, Beck most recently helped lead the Blue Devils to the program's 18th ACC Championship and first since 2012. Beck concluded the regular season with an 18-0 overall record and 13-0 mark in ACC play, becoming the first Blue Devil to go undefeated in conference action since teammate Kelly Chen achieved the feat in 2018. The Watkinsville, Ga., native owns a 19-2 overall ledger this season that features seven wins over ranked opponents.
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"First and foremost, it's a tremendous honor for Chloe, as it's voted on by her teammates," Duke head women's coach Jamie Ashworth said. "To be recognized by your peers as a great leader on and off the court is a tremendous honor and something she should be really proud of. Her focus, intensity, drive to get better and drive to make her teammates better is incredible and infectious – the attitude that she has on the court. We're definitely lucky to have someone like Chloe in our program and her teammates are lucky they have someone like that to look up to."
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Johns served as the Blue Devils' top singles player this season, playing each of his dual matches on court one. He sports a 17-8 overall record and leads Duke with seven wins against ranked opponents. Johns' most noteworthy victory of the campaign was an upset of No. 22 Brian Cernoch of North Carolina 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 on March 16. Johns was named the ACC Player of the Week following the performance. The Atlanta, Ga., product has been nationally ranked by the ITA throughout the course of the year as well.
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"Garrett is extremely deserving of this player-voted honor, and it is a direct reflection of all the work he has put into his tennis and mental game," Duke head men's coach Ramsey Smith said. "Garrett is someone who has worked to improve his tennis year-round and he's taken responsibility for his game, which sets a great example for our program. Garrett has played in the top spot in our lineup the entire year, and he has won some huge matches for Duke. Garrett will be competing in the NCAA Singles Championships for the first time this month, and I am looking forward to watching him finish his junior year strong as a team and individually."
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Zhang, who was tabbed the team's MVP a season ago, has helped the Blue Devils to back-to-back at-large bids to the NCAA Team Championship and owns a career singles record of 53-19 and a 37-22 mark in doubles. This season he holds a team-high 21-9 overall singles record, including an impressive 12-4 mark in dual action. He finished the ACC season with an 8-1 mark as well. Zhang has risen throughout his career and this season has secured his position at the No. 2 spot for the Blue Devils. In that position, he has posted an 11-4 record. In the fall, he defeated Wake Forest's Taha Baadi to claim the ITA Carolina Regional Championship singles title. He became the fifth individual in Duke men's tennis history to claim the singles title, and the first since volunteer assistant coach Chris Mengel did so in 2011.Â
"Andrew has been an impactful leader and team captain for us this spring, and I feel his leadership has directly contributed to our team success this year," Smith added. "Andrew has grown as a leader each semester at Duke, and he demonstrates this on and off the court. He carries himself with a quiet confidence on the court and his demeanor has been really helpful in critical moments this season. Below the surface, Andrew is a fierce competitor who is in every match and this leadership quality has made us a tougher team."
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The women host Quinnipiac on Friday at 4 p.m. at Ambler Tennis Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Championship. The winner of that match will play the winner of the Furman/Old Dominion match in the second round on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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The men travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for their opening round matchup with No. 42 Memphis. That contest is set for Friday at 10 a.m., at Barksdale Stadium on the campus of the University of Tennessee. The winner of that match will face the winner of the Tennessee/Tennessee Tech contest on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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#GoDuke
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In the sixth year presenting the awards, junior Chloe Beck earned the honor on the women's side, while junior Garrett Johns won for the men.
Â
The men's team also presented the fourth annual Robert C. Taylor Leadership Award to junior Andrew Zhang.
Â
Charles Hamilton Hargrave was one of the first men's team captains for Duke, lettering in 1927-28. His family wanted to keep his memory alive within the Blue Devil tennis program and endowed the MVP award in his name.
Â
The Lucile and Clarence Dragert Charitable Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas enabled the leadership award in Robert C. Taylor's name. Taylor was a 1949 Duke graduate and member of the tennis program. Taylor was President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon as an undergraduate and received his degree from Duke Law School in 1952. Taylor, who went on to become a tax attorney and public servant in the Dallas area, received the Charles A. Duke Award in 2008 for his longstanding support and service to the school.
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Checking in at No. 9 in the ITA singles rankings, Beck most recently helped lead the Blue Devils to the program's 18th ACC Championship and first since 2012. Beck concluded the regular season with an 18-0 overall record and 13-0 mark in ACC play, becoming the first Blue Devil to go undefeated in conference action since teammate Kelly Chen achieved the feat in 2018. The Watkinsville, Ga., native owns a 19-2 overall ledger this season that features seven wins over ranked opponents.
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"First and foremost, it's a tremendous honor for Chloe, as it's voted on by her teammates," Duke head women's coach Jamie Ashworth said. "To be recognized by your peers as a great leader on and off the court is a tremendous honor and something she should be really proud of. Her focus, intensity, drive to get better and drive to make her teammates better is incredible and infectious – the attitude that she has on the court. We're definitely lucky to have someone like Chloe in our program and her teammates are lucky they have someone like that to look up to."
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Johns served as the Blue Devils' top singles player this season, playing each of his dual matches on court one. He sports a 17-8 overall record and leads Duke with seven wins against ranked opponents. Johns' most noteworthy victory of the campaign was an upset of No. 22 Brian Cernoch of North Carolina 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 on March 16. Johns was named the ACC Player of the Week following the performance. The Atlanta, Ga., product has been nationally ranked by the ITA throughout the course of the year as well.
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"Garrett is extremely deserving of this player-voted honor, and it is a direct reflection of all the work he has put into his tennis and mental game," Duke head men's coach Ramsey Smith said. "Garrett is someone who has worked to improve his tennis year-round and he's taken responsibility for his game, which sets a great example for our program. Garrett has played in the top spot in our lineup the entire year, and he has won some huge matches for Duke. Garrett will be competing in the NCAA Singles Championships for the first time this month, and I am looking forward to watching him finish his junior year strong as a team and individually."
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Zhang, who was tabbed the team's MVP a season ago, has helped the Blue Devils to back-to-back at-large bids to the NCAA Team Championship and owns a career singles record of 53-19 and a 37-22 mark in doubles. This season he holds a team-high 21-9 overall singles record, including an impressive 12-4 mark in dual action. He finished the ACC season with an 8-1 mark as well. Zhang has risen throughout his career and this season has secured his position at the No. 2 spot for the Blue Devils. In that position, he has posted an 11-4 record. In the fall, he defeated Wake Forest's Taha Baadi to claim the ITA Carolina Regional Championship singles title. He became the fifth individual in Duke men's tennis history to claim the singles title, and the first since volunteer assistant coach Chris Mengel did so in 2011.Â
"Andrew has been an impactful leader and team captain for us this spring, and I feel his leadership has directly contributed to our team success this year," Smith added. "Andrew has grown as a leader each semester at Duke, and he demonstrates this on and off the court. He carries himself with a quiet confidence on the court and his demeanor has been really helpful in critical moments this season. Below the surface, Andrew is a fierce competitor who is in every match and this leadership quality has made us a tougher team."
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The women host Quinnipiac on Friday at 4 p.m. at Ambler Tennis Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Championship. The winner of that match will play the winner of the Furman/Old Dominion match in the second round on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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The men travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for their opening round matchup with No. 42 Memphis. That contest is set for Friday at 10 a.m., at Barksdale Stadium on the campus of the University of Tennessee. The winner of that match will face the winner of the Tennessee/Tennessee Tech contest on Saturday at 1 p.m.
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#GoDuke
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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