Duke Shuts Out East Tennessee State, 7-0

Friday, February 10

Durham, N.C.

4 p.m.

Duke University

East Tennessee State

Duke Shuts Out East Tennessee State, 7-0

2/10/2023 9:05:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – Duke made its way back into the win column on Friday afternoon after it defeated East Tennessee State, 7-0, at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

Junior Andrew Dale clinched the win for Duke, marking his first match-clinching victory of the year.

The Blue Devils improve to 6-3 overall, while the Bucs drop to 0-7.

How It Happened

Duke earned the doubles point after recording wins on court three and two. Sophomore Connor Krug and freshman Teddy Truwit teamed up for the first time this spring and posted a 6-3 win over Peter Kalocsai and Juan Lobisano to begin doubles action.
The senior-rookie duo of Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas then secured the point when they bested Pedro Cressoni and Francisco Lamas on court two, 6-2.
The match between Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang against Dimitri Badra and Adam Nagoudi on the top court went unfinished with the teams knotted at 4-4.
Duke continued its strong play in singles action with No. 88 Rodenas registering a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Nagoudi on court three.
Senior Heller increased Duke's advantage to 3-0 following his 6-0, 6-2 win over James Sim on court six.
Dale's match was the next to finish and clinched the overall win for the Blue Devils. The Leesburg, Va., native recorded a 6-4 victory in the opening set prior to earning a 6-2 win in the second.
The next two matches to finish were on court four and two, respectively. Krug defeated Lamas 6-4, 6-4 on court four, before Zhang secured a 6-3, 6-2 win over Cressoni on court two.
No. 6 Johns closed the door on the Bucs when he bested Badra on the main court. The Atlanta, Ga., native registered a 6-0 victory in the opening frame and a 7-6 (2) tiebreak win in the second.

Notes

Dale secured his first match-clinching point of the year and fourth of his career.
Rodneas and Johns improved to 9-0 and 7-2, respectively, on the year to lead the Blue Devils.

Quotes
"I thought we did a good job of taking care of business today. It was nice to see the number three doubles finish up first with Teddy (Truwit) in his first dual match. Really happy for him to get that opportunity. He's been working really hard, and he's earned it so that was a nice start. Then overall in singles I thought we were really focused from start to finish. That was the goal and we definitely had some bright spots there." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match.

"Proud of both of them. Michael (Heller) came off a really tough loss individually and collectively as a team against Northwestern as he was in that decider. I just told the guys right now that he handled it perfectly. He put his head down and went back to work. He had an awesome week of practice so I felt really good about him coming out here and getting the win, which he did. (Andrew) Dale has dealt with some injuries and has been a little bit up and down. Obviously, he's been someone who's been a rock for us in the springs the past two years and he's put in a lot of work to get himself back in that position. Feel really good about both of those guys." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on some individual highlights from the match

"Our team is just really resilient in general. We've lost three matches and the next match has always been really good. Today was no different. Win or lose we just kind of go back to work the next day, which is a really important quality for a tennis player because in tennis you lose a lot both on tour and at every level. So, you have to be able to rebound. We are still dealing with managing consistency. I want to make sure that we have that full best effort from all six guys. We need to focus and just work on being especially gritty and I thought we were that today." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on the bounce-back effort from his team

"It felt great. I was a little nervous at first but was also super excited. I had a great teammate in Connor (Krug), and it was a great win. Connor and I have been playing really well together in practice so it was nice to see that hard work pay off. We both have an aggressive mindset so we were able to control the match. The doubles match on one was a little close so to be able to be able to clinch a doubles point is always beneficial to the team. Today's win was a great bounce-back effort from Northwestern and we're hoping to do more of the same in the future." – Duke freshman Teddy Truwit on his first dual match and earning a doubles win

Next Match
The Blue Devils hit the road for a noon matchup with No. 2 Kentucky on Sunday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. The Wildcats defeated No. 23 Louisville on the road Friday, 4-3.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMTEN".

Results
Doubles (3,2*)
1. Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) vs. Dimitri Badra/Adam Nagoudi (ETSU) 4-4, unfinished
2. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Pedro Cressoni/Francisco Lamas (ETSU) 6-2
3. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Peter Kalocsai/Juan Lobisano (ETSU) 6-3

Singles (3,6,5*,4,2,1)
1. #6 Garrett Johns (DU) def. Dimitri Badra (ETSU) 6-0, 7-6 (7-2)
2. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Pedro Cressoni (ETSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. #88 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Adam Nagoudi (ETSU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. Francisco Lamas (ETSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Lucas Britez (ETSU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Michael Heller (DU) def. James Sim (ETSU) 6-0, 6-2

#GoDuke