Duke Blanks Boston College to Begin ACC Play

Friday, February 24

Durham, N.C.

3 p.m.

Duke University

Boston College

Duke Blanks Boston College to Begin ACC Play

2/24/2023 7:52:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

DURHAM – No. 22 Duke men's tennis kicked off ACC play with a 7-0 victory over Boston College on Friday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium.

Freshman Pedro Rodenas tallied his fourth match-clinching victory of the year after he defeated Max Motlagh 6-4, 6-0 on the top court.

The Blue Devils improve to 7-4 overall, while the Eagles drop to 5-2.

How It Happened

Boston College began doubles play earning a 6-3 victory on court two after Mason Fung and Motlagh beat Connor Krug and Teddy Truwit.
The Blue Devils rebounded with wins on court one and three though to secure the doubles point. Garrett Johns and Rodenas bested Juan Jose Bianchi and Jake Vassel on court one, 6-4, before Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni defeated Matt Campbell and Will Kasten, 6-4, on court three.
Vallabhaneni then made quick work of Connor McDonald on court six 6-0, 6-0 to hand Duke a 2-0 edge early in singles action.
Sophomore Jake Krug extended Duke's lead following his 6-2, 6-1 win over Kasten on court five.
Rodenas was the next to finish as he clinched the overall match for the home side with his victory on the top court.
Despite the contest already being clinched, the teams played out the final three matches. Fortunately for Duke, it closed out the day with three additional wins by Connor Krug, Andrew Zhang and Andrew Dale.
Connor Krug beat Mai Gao 6-4, 6-2 on court three, before Zhang tallied a 7-5, 6-0 win over Vassel on court two.

The final match of the day was decided in tiebreak fashion. Campbell earned a 6-4 victory in the first set over Dale, but the junior bounced back to record a 7-5 win in the second. The Leesburg, Va., native was trailing 5-2 in the frame before rallying to earn the win. Dale then went on to register a 10-4 victory in the super tiebreak to close the door on the Eagles.

Notes

Rodenas leads the team with four match-clinching wins on the year.
Rodneas is the first to reach double-digit dual wins and shifts to 10-1 on the season.
Johns and Rodenas improve to 7-2 in dual doubles play.

Quotes
"It felt good. It was nice to play outdoors. It was a beautiful day and it's always nice to get that first outdoor match in. For doubles, we weren't as sharp as we needed to be, and it was a bit disappointing, but I thought we bounced back and focused really well in singles." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on starting ACC play 1-0

"He was really tough mentally because he was not feeling the ball well at all. Things weren't going his way and his opponent was playing great. It went 6-4, 5-2 and we sat down at the changeover and said we're going to win this match. We're just going to play each one independently and be mentally tough. He's such a good competitor and things were going just a little fast for him, so he slowed it down, reset, and was a bit fortunate. He was down match point, but he gave himself a chance and it was nice to see him find a way to win there at the end." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on Andrew Dale's battle with Campbell on court five

"It was great. My teammates helped me a lot. They were supporting me from the start. I started a little bit nervous but having them win early in singles helped me settle in. Just super happy to get the win." – Duke freshman Pedro Rodenas on his match-clinching victory

Next Match
The Blue Devils welcome No. 60 Charlotte to Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match. The 49ers are coming off a 6-1 loss to No. 62 Old Dominion during their last outing on Thursday. Live stats and video are available for Saturday's contest.

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

Results
Doubles (2,1,3*)
1. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Juan Jose Bianchi/Jake Vassel (BC) 6-4
2. Mason Fung/Max Motlagh (BC) def. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) 6-3
3. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) def. Matt Campbell/Will Kasten (BC) 6-4

Singles (6,5,1*,3,2,4)
1. Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Max Motlagh (BC) 6-4, 6-0
2. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Jake Vassel (BC) 7-5, 6-0
3. Connor Krug (DU) def. Mai Gao (BC) 6-4, 6-2
4. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Matt Campbell (BC) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-4)
5. Jake Krug (DU) def. Will Kasten (BC) 6-2, 6-1
6. Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) def. Connor McDonald (BC) 6-0, 6-0

#GoDuke