Duke Claims ITA Kickoff Weekend Title after 4-0 Win

Sunday, January 28

Durham, N.C.

12:30 p.m.

Duke University

Middle Tennessee

Duke Claims ITA Kickoff Weekend Title after 4-0 Win

1/28/2024 4:34:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – No. 8 Duke men's tennis punched its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Sunday afternoon after it defeated Middle Tennessee State, 4-0, to capture the Durham ITA Kickoff Weekend title.

With the win, Duke returns to the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship for the first time since 2018. The Blue Devils also improved to 18-7 in ITA Kickoff Weekend competition.

Duke (5-0) remains undefeated on the year and extends its home winning streak to 13 consecutive matches. The Blue Raiders dip to 4-2.

Sophomore Pedro Rodenas clinched the match for Duke after he bested No. 47 Marcel Kamrowski on court two in straight sets.

How It Happened

For the fifth time this season, Duke claimed the doubles point after securing victories on court two and one, respectively. No. 14 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang registered a 6-2 win over Karim Al-Amin and Shu Matsuoka on court two to shift to 3-0 on the year. Garrett Johns and Rodenas then followed suit with a 6-4 victory over Javier Cueto Ramos and Jakub Kroslak on the top court to clinch the doubles point. The match between Connor Krug and Faris Khan against Ondrej Horak and Leo Raquin went unfinished with the Blue Raiders in front, 6-5.
Jake Krug's match on court six was the first to go final in singles action with the Lakewood Ranch, Fla., native recording 6-3, 6-3 victories over Jakub Kroslak to increase Duke's overall edge to 2-0.
His twin brother Connor Krug next extended the Blue Devils' lead to 3-0 after besting Matsuoka 6-3, 6-2 on court four.
No. 21 Rodenas then secured the match for the Blue Devils when he defeated No. 47 Kamrowski on court two 6-2, 6-3.
Johns and Zhang both earned first set wins against their ranked opponents on court one and three, respectively, and were leading in the second set when the match was halted.
Andrew Dale was down one set to Demis Taramonlis on court five but was in a battle in the second set when the match was clinched by the Blue Devils.

Notes

Rodenas secured his first match-clinching victory of the year and the seventh of his career.
Jake Krug remains undefeated in dual action and sits with a 4-0 ledger, including a 3-0 mark on court six.
Duke's doubles pairing of Heller and Zhang and Johns and Rodenas both improved to 3-0 on the early season.
The Blue Devils recorded their 13th consecutive victory at home and are 47-7 when playing in Durham over the last five seasons.

Quotes
"Last weekend really prepared us well for this weekend. We played three matches in two days, and we scheduled very tough with VCU and Princeton. I think that really helped us physically, mentally, and preparation-wise. Going into this weekend we knew we would have to play back-to-back. We knew NC State was one of the toughest four seeds in the whole country so just really proud of the guys. I thought we competed extremely well. Our doubles looked really good and just happy to be going to New York." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

"It feels great. We've had to work really hard to get ourselves back to where I think we should be. We had to get the right pieces and I feel like we have the right group, right players, right culture, right mentality this season. It's really tough. There are a lot of competitive teams out there that show a lot of consistency. Last year I thought was a breakthrough season, in particular the second half of the season, and obviously we have a similar group of guys this year with the addition of Alexander Visser. Overall, it's been a lot of hard work but we're not satisfied with just going. I think we have an opportunity to really do well in New York and I think we can improve on some things from this weekend. It feels great to make it through and be able to host and play at home to make it through and I'm excited for the team." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the first time since 2018

"It means a lot both personality and for the team. I had a rough weekend last weekend, so I wanted to prove to myself that I was back. It was also nice to beat Middle Tennessee, who beat us last year at this event, to advance in the tournament. We felt like we had something to prove and wanted to focus this week on just coming out and playing free. A couple guys played with a little too much pressure last weekend, so we did a good job this week during practice to change that mindset." – Duke sophomore Pedro Rodenas on clinching the match for Duke and advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships

Next Match
The Blue Devils hit the road for two matches against Big Ten foes in Illinois and Northwestern. Duke will face the Illini on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. CT), before traveling to meet up with the Wildcats on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. (Noon CT).

Results
Doubles (2,1*)
1. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Javier Cueto Ramos/Jakub Kroslak (MTSU) 6-4
2. #14 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Karim Al-Amin/Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) 6-2
3. Connor Krug/Faris Khan (DU) vs. Ondrej Horak/Leo Raquin (MTSU) 5-6, unfinished

Singles (6,4,2*)
1. Garrett Johns (DU) vs. #25 Leo Raquin (MTSU) 7-5, 3-1, unfinished
2. #21 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #47 Marcel Kamrowski (MTSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) vs. #105 Ondrej Horak (MTSU) 6-2, 5-5, unfinished
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. Shu Matsuoka (MTSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Andrew Dale (DU) vs. Demis Taramonlis (MTSU) 3-6, 2-3, unfinished
6. Jake Krug (DU) def. Jakub Kroslak (MTSU) 6-3, 6-3

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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