Duke Advances to NCAA Second Round After Victory Over UNC Wilmington

Saturday, May 6

Durham, N.C.

2 p.m.

Duke University

UNC Wilmington

Duke Advances to NCAA Second Round After Victory Over UNC Wilmington

5/6/2023 8:35:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

DURHAM – No. 11 Duke opened the NCAA Team Championship with a 4-2 victory over UNC Wilmington on Saturday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium.

The Blue Devils are set to face No. 41 Cornell at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the NCAA Second Round at Ambler Tennis Stadium.

Saturday's outcome marked Duke's second consecutive victory in the opening round of the nation-wide tournament and its first home postseason win at the event since 2015 when the Blue Devils bested South Carolina State, 5-0, in the first round.

For the fourth time this season, the Blue Devils rebounded for the win after dropping the doubles point. Sophomore Jake Krug earned his first match-clinching victory of the year to help Duke improve to 21-6 overall. UNC Wilmington falls to 17-8.

How It Happened

The Blue Devils kicked off doubles play with a victory on court one by No. 25 Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas. The duo bested Drew Broadstreet and Trey Mallory, 6-2, for their 16th dual doubles victory of the year.
Unfortunately, the Seahawks claimed wins on court two and three, respectively, to register the doubles point. Alex de Gabriele and Reece Falck defeated Connor Krug and Teddy Truwit, 6-4, on court two, before Gabe Hurtado and Bekhzod Rasamatov tallied a 7-6 (5) tiebreak win over Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni on court three.
Despite his team dropping the doubles point, No. 52 Rodenas knotted the score at 1-1 early for Duke in singles play when he recorded a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Falck on court two.
The visitors pulled back in front at 2-1 when Rasamatov bested Connor Krug on court four 6-1, 6-2
The next two matches to finish were on court one and three, respectively, with the Blue Devils coming out victorious on both. On the top court, No. 12 Johns handed Harold Huens a 6-2, 6-1 defeat before Andrew Zhang secured a 6-0, 6-2 win over Hurtado on court three.
Jake Krug then followed suit with his match-clinching victory on court six over de Gabriele. Jake Krug claimed a 7-5 win in the opening set and added a 6-3 victory in the second for his 10th dual win of the year.
The match on court five between Andrew Dale and Davide Innocenti went unfinished with Dale leading 1-0 after a 6-4 victory in the first frame. The two were all square at 2-2 in the second when the match was halted.

Notes

Duke won its eighth-straight home match and its 26th home match in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils improve to 49-29 overall at the national event.
With the win, Duke is 11-2 at home this season.
In addition, the Blue Devils have now won 15 of their last 17 matches.
Rodenas extended his winning streak to 11 consecutive matches and improves his overall dual ledger to 25-2.
The rookie remains undefeated on court two with a mark of 16-0.

Quotes
"It obviously wasn't our best doubles performance, but I thought court three still gave us a chance to put ourselves in a position where we had an opportunity to take it. And that's all we can really ask for at that moment. I'm proud of the guys the way they bounced back off of the doubles point and we'll look ahead to being sharper tomorrow." – Duke associate head coach Maciek Sykut

"I think collectively looking at the team the way that we came out of the doubles point and what we put out on the court was a phenomenal response. Maybe every court wasn't perfect, but I thought we stuck to our gameplan, and we executed on most of the courts. Yes, courts one and two have been doing a tremendous job. They've been doing really well. It was great to see [Andrew] Zhang get off the court quick and then for Jake [Krug] to get the clinching point. It was awesome." – Duke associate head coach Maciek Sykut

"We have a tough battle against Cornell. I think we took care of the first assignment, part one of the weekend, but now we shift our focus to Cornell, and we expect a big battle. They obviously took down Auburn in the first round, but I also expect us to come out a little big sharper. I know our best tennis is yet to come." – Duke associate head coach Maciek Sykut

"It felt great. We've been playing well and working hard all season so was happy to see us get the win. Credit to UNC Wilmington. They came out and played a hell of a doubles point and then gave us all we could handle in singles so just happy to be through. We'll now shift our focus to Cornell for tomorrow." – Duke sophomore Jake Krug

Next Match
Twelfth-seeded and 11th-ranked Duke will next face 41st-ranked Cornell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 2 p.m., at Ambler Tennis Stadium. The Big Red advanced earlier in the day following a 4-3 win over No. 23 Auburn.

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

Results
Doubles (1,2,3*)
1. #25 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Drew Broadstreet/Trey Mallory (UNCW) 6-2
2. Reece Falck/Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) def. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) 6-4
3. Gabe Hurtado/Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) def. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) 7-6 (7-5)

Singles (2,4,1,3,6*)
1. #12 Garrett Johns (DU) def. Harold Huens (UNCW) 6-2, 6-1
2. #52 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Reece Falck (UNCW) 6-3, 6-1
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Gabe Hurtado (UNCW) 6-0, 6-2
4. Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Andrew Dale (DU) vs. Davide Innocenti (UNCW) 6-4, 2-2, unfinished
6. Jake Krug (DU) def. Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) 7-5, 6-3

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