Duke Drops Decision to No. 5 Virginia in NCAA Round of 16

Saturday, May 13

Charlottesville, Va.

1 p.m.

Duke University

[5] Virginia

Duke Drops Decision to No. 5 Virginia in NCAA Round of 16

5/13/2023 10:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 11 Duke fell 4-0 on Saturday to No. 5 Virginia in the NCAA Team Championship Round of 16 at the Virginia Tennis Facility.

With the loss, the Blue Devils concluded their team season with an overall record of 22-7. Duke will still send senior Garrett Johns and rookie Pedro Rodenas to the 2023 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship, which runs May 22-27 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The Cavaliers (27-4) advance to the NCAA quarterfinal round.

How It Happened

Saturday's matchup was an unusual one as it featured a lightning delay, wet indoor courts, and multiple location changes.
The Blue Devils and Cavaliers were scheduled to begin outdoors at 1 p.m. but were halted by a lightning delay. The decision was made to move indoors, and doubles action began around 1:45 p.m.
The doubles pairing of Ryan Goetz and Alexander Kiefer kicked off play with a 6-4 victory over Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni on court three. The home side then recorded the doubles point after No. 58 Inaki Montes and William Woodall bested No. 25 Johns and Rodenas, 6-3, on the main court.
The match between No. 39 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang against Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg on court two went unfinished with the Cavaliers in front 5-4 when the match was halted.
Due to courts four, five and six being wet, the teams were only able to begin singles play on the top three courts. Midway through the opening sets, play was stopped due to the remaining indoor courts being unplayable. The teams were then told that play would begin again back outdoors on all six courts at 6 p.m.
When play finally resumed, the home side increased its advantage to 2-0 after No. 9 Rodesch bested No. 12 Johns 7-6 (2), 6-4 on the main court.
No. 49 von der Schulenburg then defeated Zhang on court three 7-6 (5), 7-5 to pull the Cavaliers within one of clinching.
Court six was the next to finish with Mans Dahlberg securing the overall win following his 7-6 (4), 6-0 victory over Khan.
There were three matches that went unfinished on the day on courts two, four and five, respectively.
No. 52 Rodenas was knotted at one set apiece with No. 26 Montes on court two after Rodenas earned a 6-3 win in the first set and Montes tallied a 7-5 victory in the second. The two were knotted at 2-2 in the third frame when the match was stopped.
No. 87 Goetz and Connor Krug were also spit at one set each on court four. Goetz recorded a 6-3 win in the opening frame before Krug battled back for the 7-5 victory in the second. The third set had not started by the time Virginia clinched the overall match.
Alexander Kiefer was up one set on Andrew Dale on court five after he posted a 6-2 win in the first frame. Kiefer was leading 5-2 in the second when the match was stopped.

Notes

Duke concluded the year with its most wins since the 2014-15 season when it finished 24-7.
Rodenas wrapped up his freshman dual season with an impressive 26-2 mark, including a 17-0 record on court two.

Quotes
"I could not be more proud of our entire team and staff for everything we've accomplished together this year. It always hurts to lose that last match, but I love this group and I've had an absolute blast coaching them. Our future is bright.

"It was unfortunate how things unfolded today with the circumstances regarding the playing conditions, but credit to Virginia. They are a tough team and they outplayed us today." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith

Next Match
Johns and Rodenas will represent Duke at the 2023 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship, which runs May 22-27 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. Rodenas makes his first appearances in the singles championship, while Johns registers his second straight trip to the top singles event and earned a 9-16 seed.

In addition, the twosome secured an at-large bid to the 32-team doubles championship. The senior doubles pairing of Heller and Zhang will serve as one of the top alternate teams, should a squad pull out of the competition prior to the start.

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

Results
Doubles (3,1*)
1. #58 Inaki Montes/William Woodall (VA) def. #25 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) 6-3
2. Chris Rodesch/J vd Schulenburg (VA) vs. #39 Andrew Zhang/Michael Heller (DU) 5-4, unfinished
3. Ryan Goetz/Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) 6-4

Singles (1,3,6*)
1. #9 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #12 Garrett Johns (DU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
2. #26 Inaki Montes (VA) vs. #52 Pedro Rodenas (DU) 3-6, 7-5, 2-2, unfinished
3. #49 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Andrew Zhang (DU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
4. #87 Ryan Goetz (VA) vs. Connor Krug (DU) 6-3, 5-7, unfinished
5. Alexander Kiefer (VA) vs. Andrew Dale (DU) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Faris Khan (DU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-0

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