Khan Clinches Win for Duke on Senior Day

Saturday, April 6

Durham, N.C.

1 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Khan Clinches Win for Duke on Senior Day

4/6/2024 7:23:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – Senior Faris Khan earned his first match-clinching victory of the year to help No. 17 Duke men's tennis defeat No. 22 North Carolina, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium.

Khan was one of three seniors that tallied a win during Saturday's Senior Day matchup, joining Garrett Johns and Andrew Zhang. The trio helped Duke improve to 16-7 overall and 8-2 in ACC play. The Tar Heels fall to 13-6 and 7-3, respectively.

The Blue Devils have now won three consecutive matches against North Carolina and shift to 12-2 when playing in Durham this season.

How It Happened

No. 4 Johns and Pedro Rodenas made quick work of No. 26 Benjamin Kittay and Phillip Jordan on the top court to begin doubles, defeating the pairing 6-2 for their ninth nationally ranked win of the year. Khan and Teddy Truwit then followed suit by beating Karl Poling and Will Peters on court three, 6-4, to clinch the doubles point. The match on court two between No. 40 Michael Heller and Zhang against Patrick Schoen and Peter Murphy went unfinished with the teams knotted at 5-5.
No. 49 Rodenas extended Duke's edge to 2-0 early in singles play when he bested Jordan in straight sets 6-1, 6-0 to improve to 10-6 on court two.
The Tar Heels cut the deficit in half after Schoen edged Connor Krug on court four 6-2, 6-3.
Duke wouldn't falter though, answering with a win on the main court by No. 21 Johns over Kittay. The Atlanta, Ga., native posted a 6-1 victory in the opening frame before recording a 6-4 win in the second for his team-leading 14th dual victory of the year.
Khan then clinched the match for the Blue Devils on court six when he secured 6-1, 6-2 wins over Anuj Watane.
North Carolina earned its second point of the match on court five after Peters defeated Alexander Visser 6-3, 6-4.
The final match of the day was decided in super tiebreak fashion with Zhang claiming the ranked win over No. 67 Poling. Zhang dropped his opening set 7-5 but rebounded for a 6-1 victory in the second to force a third frame. Since the overall match was already decided, the contest went to a super tiebreak in which Zhang outlasted Poling, 10-6.

Notes

With Saturday's win, the Blue Devils have now tallied eight-plus ACC victories in three consecutive seasons.
Duke improves to 5-4 against top-25 opponents this season.
Khan earned his first match-clinching victory of the year and the sixth of his career.
Johns leads the team with 14 dual singles wins, while Rodenas and Zhang follow closely with 13 apiece.
Duke's top doubles pairing of Johns and Rodenas earned their 15th dual win of the year and improve to 9-2 against nationally ranked foes.
The duo has won seven-straight contests and nine of their last 10 matches.
The five graduating Blue Devils acknowledged pre-match were Andrew Dale, Khan, Heller, Johns and Zhang.

Quotes
"That was an amazing college tennis match. It was a beautiful day, the atmosphere, our stadium was absolutely packed. The energy from start to finish was off the charts. Ultimately, I'm just incredibly proud of my team, especially the seniors. Today was Senior Day so there is always extra emotion, and I was worried we might come out a little bit slow in doubles but doubles was phenomenal on all three courts. We really grabbed the momentum. I think that's UNC's best point, they're always really tough in doubles so for us to get that advantage and earn that 1-0 lead I thought was really important. The second piece was how strongly we came out in singles. That's something we didn't do our last match against Notre Dame and we really worked on that this week. I told them let's pretend like you only get to play one set and just put everything into it. And the guys answered, it was even better than I was hoping. North Carolina is obviously such a good team and they compete so well that they dug in and made it challenging for us but start to finish just a great match." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

"It's two groups really. We have three super seniors and two regular seniors and I guess the short of it is that they've changed the program and the trajectory of the program. When they came in we were in a tough spot and we were below our standard and these guys came in and put their heads down and became a collective unit. They've pushed each other and I'm just so grateful that they've helped get us back to where I feel like we should be in that top-15. They're just a fun group of guys. A lot of different characters and a lot of different personalities but they all share that love for Duke and love for Duke tennis. Definitely going to miss them." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on Duke's senior class

"To beat Anuj, who is someone who I have the utmost respect for, that guy has just beat pretty much everyone on my team and when he loses it's an absolute dogfight and Faris was just ready. It was his time. He's put in some really good weeks of practice and he's been the best possible teammate when he hasn't been playing singles. It was his time today and he was the hero. He's such a good kid and brings so much energy to our program. He's a workhorse and has had to battle a lot of injuries and situations throughout the course of his life and it was just really cool for him to come in and really take advantage of the moment and clinch a big one for us." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on Faris Khan's performance

"It feels amazing. It's very special to be the one to clinch it. Across the board though everyone did an amazing job. The support from the outside really helped us get through doubles and singles. Personality, these are the moments I live for. I enjoy the pressure moments and I enjoy having it come down to me. I was already thinking 'I am going to be the one to step up and win'. I'm glad I was able to be in that position and just excited for the team. I'm just trying to enjoy every match and savoring every bit of this year. It's been the best four years of my life and I'm thankful to my coaches and family as I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them." – Duke senior Faris Khan on clinching the match against North Carolina

"We have a lot of talent on this team. Everyone on this team is a really good player and everyone loves tennis. They all put in the work every day and that's what it takes to be successful." – Duke senior Faris Khan on this year's team chemistry

Next Match
The Blue Devils close out their regular season slate traveling to Wake Forest and NC State on April 12 and 14, respectively. Duke faces the Demon Deacons on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Wake Forest Tennis Center, before traveling to meet up with the Wolfpack on Sunday at 1 p.m. at J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.

Results
Doubles (1,3*)
1. #4 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #26 Benjamin Kittay/Phillip Jordan (NC) 6-2
2. #40 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) vs. Patrick Schoen/Peter Murphy (NC) 5-5, unfinished
3. Faris Khan/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Karl Poling/Will Peters (NC) 6-4

Singles (2,4,1,6*,5,3)
1. #21 Garrett Johns (DU) def. Benjamin Kittay (NC) 6-1, 6-4
2. #49 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #118 Phillip Jordan (NC) 6-1, 6-0
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. #67 Karl Poling (NC) 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-6)
4. Patrick Schoen (NC) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Will Peters (NC) def. Alexander Visser (DU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Faris Khan (DU) def. Anuj Watane (NC) 6-1, 6-2

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

Duke Centennial
In 2024, Duke celebrates its Centennial, marking one hundred years since Trinity College became Duke University. Duke will use this historic milestone to deepen the understanding of its history, inspire pride and strengthen bonds and partnerships, and prepare for a second century of continued excellence and impactful leadership. To learn more, please visit 100.duke.edu

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