NOTRE DAME, Ind. – No. 36 Duke dropped its second straight contest on Sunday, losing to No. 25 Notre Dame on the road, 5-2.
“We got outplayed today and we have some things to work on,” said head coach Ramsey Smith. “The good news is that we have 3 1/2 weeks to work before our next match on March 4. I am happy with how Reid (Carleton) and Kiril (Dimitrov) are playing at the top two spots. They have been rock solid and show up every day ready to play. Torsten (Wietoska) was excellent today and played his most aggressive match of the season".
Wietoska, a freshman from Leer, Germany, tied the match at 1-1 when he sailed to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Niall Fitzgerald at the No. 5 position. Wietoska won his 10th singles contest of the year and is now 4-1 in dual matches. He also teamed with fellow freshman David Holland for Duke’s only win in doubles, an 8-5 decision over Fitzgerald and Matt Johnson. The two Blue Devils are now 5-2 as a doubles team.
Dimitrov, a senior from Sofia, Bulgaria, continued his hot play and earned his third straight win. He defeated Stephen Havens of Notre Dame in three sets 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 to improve to 15-7 for the season and 5-1 at the No. 2 spot.
Reid Carleton won his first set in the top spot of the order, 6-4, but fell in two straight tiebreakers 7-6 (4) and 1-0 (10-6) for just his second loss in dual match play. Notre Dame also claimed the doubles point and straight set wins at the No. 3, 4, 6 slots for the 5-2 victory.
The Blue Devils are now 3-3 on the season. They will have over three weeks of practice before their next match when they host a doubleheader against Charlotte and N.C. Central.
