Duke University Team Page
DURHAM, N.C. - After recording wins over two teams ranked in the top-10 at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Indoors this past weekend in Seattle, Wash., the Duke men's tennis team moved to fifth in the latest ITA rankings released Tuesday.
The Blue Devils posted two victories over No. 8 Oklahoma, 4-0, and No. 5 Pepperdine, 4-1, at the tournament in Seattle, while dropping a match against top-ranked Virginia, 4-0, in the quarterfinals Saturday at the event hosted by the University of Washington.
In the first-round match against the eighth-ranked Sooners on Friday, Duke picked up its 11th consecutive doubles point to open the year, after the junior pair of Fred Saba and Chris Mengel, ranked 33rd in the latest ITA doubles rankings, posted an 8-6 victory over Leonard Strakovosky and Peerakit Siributwong. Meanwhile, sophomore Raphael Hemmeler picked up his team-leading 20th win of the season in singles, as he sealed the win for the team with a victory over Strakovosky, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Freshman Michael Redlicki led the Blue Devils with a 4-1 record in singles and doubles throughout the event. In the team's win over the fifth-ranked Waves on Sunday in the consolation round, Redlicki teamed with sophomore Jason Tahir at the No. 2 doubles position to clinch the opening point of the match over Sebastian Fanselow and Alex Sarkissian, 8-7. In singles, the rookie was able to come from behind to clinch the match for Duke on the third court against Sarkissian, 1-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Duke will begin the outdoor portion of its schedule, as it hosts Virginia Commonwealth at Ambler Tennis Stadium on Tuesday, March 5 at 2 p.m., before concluding the non-conference portion of the schedule on the road Sunday, March 11 against Cal.-Berkeley at 4 p.m. ET.
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