Duke Advances to ITA Kickoff Championship Match After 4-0 Win Over No. 23 NC State

Saturday, January 27

Durham, N.C.

1 p.m.

Duke University

NC State

Duke Advances to ITA Kickoff Championship Match After 4-0 Win Over No. 23 NC State

1/27/2024 6:49:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – No. 8 Duke defeated No. 23 NC State, 4-0, in its opening round match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday afternoon inside Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

Graduate student Andrew Zhang tallied his second match-clinching point of the season against the Wolfpack (2-2) to help Duke (4-0) extend its home winning streak to 12 consecutive matches.

With the win, the Blue Devils advance to the championship match and face Middle Tennessee State (4-1) on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.. The Blue Raiders beat California, 4-1, in their first match of the weekend.

How It Happened

Connor Krug and Faris Khan earned Duke's first win of the day when they bested Braden Shick and Fons Van Sambeek, 6-3, on court three to begin doubles action.
No. 14 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang then registered the doubles point for Duke when they downed No. 13 Martin Borisiouk and Joseph Wayand on court two, 6-4.
The match between Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas against Robin Catry and Luca Staeheli on the top court went unfinished with the Wolfpack leading, 6-5.
No. 21 Rodenas extended the Blue Devils' edge to 2-0 early in singles play after defeating Van Sambeek 6-2, 6-4 on court two.
Junior Jake Krug then made it 3-0 Duke after he pulled the upset against No. 52 Wayand on court six. The Lakewood Ranch, Fla., native tallied 6-3, 6-4 victories over Wayand to remain undefeated in dual singles action.
A few minutes later, Zhang put the match away on court three when he registered 6-4, 6-2 wins over Damien Salvestre to secure the overall victory for Duke.
The matches on courts one, four and five went unfinished with the Wolfpack claiming the first set on all three courts 7-5, 7-5, and 6-2, respectively.

Notes

Zhang secured his second match-clinching victory of the year and 10th of his career.
Zhang and Jake Krug shifted to 3-0 in dual singles action.
Heller and Zhang as well as Connor Krug and Khan both improved to 2-0 in doubles play.
The Blue Devils recorded their 12th consecutive victory at home and are 46-7 when playing in Durham over the last five seasons.

Quotes
"It was a great overall team effort. We have so much respect for NC State. We knew how hard of a match this was going to be, especially in the first round of ITA Kickoff. I'm really happy to be hosting. It's a different feel. It's been a couple years since we've hosted and I feel like this is where we belong in the top-15 and hosting this event. It all started with the tone we set in doubles. We had great energy. It was free-flowing and aggressive, and the guys really had a lot of fun and went after it. It was a huge step up from last weekend." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

"The goal is to get to New York. We're only halfway there. This was a good first step. I think we set a really good first tone but now we play a tough Middle Tennessee State team that beat us last year in the ITA Kickoff event. They're hungry, they compete well and are really well-coached. We can't get too excited, we just have to refocus and take care of our bodies so we can put ourselves in the best possible position to play really well tomorrow." – Additional thoughts from Duke head coach Ramsey Smith

"It felt great. NC State is just such a good team. They're so solid, so to get a win against a strong team is such a great feeling. [Michael] Heller and I actually lost to our doubles opponent in the ITA Carolina Regional finals in the fall so it was also sweet to get a little revenge on them and clinch the doubles point." – Duke graduate student Andrew Zhang on clinching the match for Duke

"We're going to enjoy today's win, but we'll get our bodies right for tomorrow and just do a full reset. Middle Tennessee State is a very good, very gritty team so it's going to take a full team effort from us tomorrow."– Duke graduate student Andrew Zhang on the quick turnaround

Next Match
The Blue Devils will play in the championship match at 12:30 p.m., on Sunday against Middle Tennessee State inside Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. NC State will face California at 9 a.m., on Sunday in the consolation match. The winner of the championship match advances to the National Team Indoors which runs Feb. 16-18 in New York City, N.Y.

Results
Doubles (3,2)
1. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) vs. Robin Catry/Luca Staeheli (NCSU) 5-6, unfinished
2. #14 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. #13 Martin Borisiouk/Joseph Wayand (NCSU) 6-4
3. Connor Krug/Faris Khan (DU) def. Braden Shick/Fons Van Sambeek (NCSU) 6-3

Singles (2,6,3*)
1. Garrett Johns (DU) vs. #120 Robin Catry (NCSU) 5-7, 3-2, unfinished
2. #21 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Fons Van Sambeek (NCSU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Damien Salvestre (NCSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Connor Krug (DU) vs. Luca Staeheli (NCSU) 5-7, 4-5, unfinished
5. Andrew Dale (DU) vs. Braden Shick (NCSU) 2-6, 6-6 (3-3), unfinished
6. Jake Krug (DU) def. #52 Joseph Wayand (NCSU) 6-3, 6-4

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

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