Duke Falls in ACC Semifinals to Top-Seeded Virginia

Saturday, April 20

Cary, N.C.

11 a.m.

Duke University

Virginia

Duke Falls in ACC Semifinals to Top-Seeded Virginia

4/21/2024 1:54:00 AM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

CARY, N.C. – No. 12 Duke men's tennis dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 2 and top-seeded Virginia in the ACC Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Cary Tennis Park.

With the loss, Duke drops to 18-9 on the year with six of their nine losses coming against top-25 opponents. Virginia improves to 22-4 and advances to its fifth consecutive ACC title match.

How It Happened

The Cavaliers earned the first doubles win of the day on court two when No. 62 Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg defeated No. 70 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang, 6-3. The Blue Devils answered on court three after Faris Khan and Teddy Truwit posted a 6-4 victory over Dylan Dietrich and Alexander Kiefer. With the doubles point coming down to the outcome on court one, No. 1 Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas registered a convincing 6-3 win over No. 12 Inaki Montes and James Hopper to clinch the point.
Despite dropping the doubles point, Virginia pulled in front early in singles action after wins on court four and five, respectively. No. 45 Dietrich beat Connor Krug 6-2, 6-3 before Kiefer tallied 6-2, 6-1 victories over Alexander Visser.
The Cavaliers extend their advantage to 3-0 following No. 36 Montes' victory over No. 43 Rodenas 6-1, 6-4 on court two.
No. 4 Rodesch then secured the overall win for Virginia when he recorded the come-from-behind win over No. 22 Johns on the top court. Johns earned a 6-4 win in the first set but dropped the next two 6-2, 6-3.
The match on court three between No. 51 von der Schulenburg and Zhang went unfinished with the contest in a third set when it was halted.
Khan won his opening set against Mans Dahlberg 7-5 on court six and was tied at 5-5 in the second frame when the match was stopped.

Notes

Johns and Rodenas registered their 19th dual-match victory and are now 13-2 against nationally ranked opponents.
The pairing is currently riding an 11-match winning streak.
Khan and Truwit teamed up for their fifth dual victory of the year.

Quotes
"Congrats to Virginia. We played a really solid doubles point to earn the 1-0 lead, and UVA did a great job grabbing the momentum back early in singles. They got two quick singles points on the board and the rest of the matches were battles. Virginia was just a little bit better in the end. I love the way we competed, and I am very encouraged by how we are progressing. We are excited to have the next two weeks to prepare to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

Next Match
Duke will now await the 2024 NCAA Tournament selections, which will be announced on Monday, April 29 at 6 p.m.

Results
Doubles (2,3,1*)
1. #1 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #12 Inaki Montes/James Hopper (VA) 6-3
2. #62 Chris Rodesch/J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. #70 Andrew Zhang/Michael Heller (DU) 6-3
3. Faris Khan/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Alexander Kiefer/Dylan Dietrich (VA) 6-4

Singles (4,5,2,1*)
1. #4 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #22 Garrett Johns (DU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. #36 Inaki Montes (VA) def. #43 Pedro Rodenas (DU) 6-1, 6-4
3. #51 J vd Schulenburg (VA) vs. Andrew Zhang (DU) 7-5, 2-6, 3-2, unfinished
4. #45 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Alexander Visser (DU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) vs. Faris Khan (DU) 5-7, 5-5, unfinished

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