Duke University Team Page

DURHAM, N.C. – The eighth-ranked Duke men’s tennis team will continue Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) action this weekend, as the Blue Devils travel to face top-ranked Virginia and No. 52 Virginia Tech. The Blue Devils face the Cavaliers in Charlottesville, Va., Friday, March 22 at 3 p.m., andwill play No. 52 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, March 24 at 1 p.m.

“We’ve had a good week of practice and our guys have been looking forward to this weekend for a while,” said head coach Ramsey Smith. “Our team is confident and ready.”

Duke opened ACC play 2-0 last weekend, defeating then-No.24 Wake Forest, 7-0, Friday, before downing then-No. 57 North Carolina, 6-1, Sunday in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils continued their dominance in doubles, sweeping the Demon Deacons and Tar Heels in doubles throughout the two matches. In singles, senior Henrique Cunha remained perfect at 10-0 on the season from the top position in the lineup. Sophomore Jason Tahir also remained undefeated for the dual season after he posted two victories over the weekend to improve to 12-0.

Virginia boasts a deep lineup in singles and doubles, with six players ranked in singles and four ranked doubles tandems. In singles, the Cavaliers are led by top-ranked Alex Domijan, while No. 5 Jamere Jenkins and No. 12 Mac Styslinger are ranked in the top-15. No. 22 Ryan Shane, No. 70 Harrison Richmond and No. 81 Mitchell Frank are also listed in the singles poll. The Cavaliers boast four ranked duos in doubles, as No. 2 Jenkins and Styslinger lead the way. Also ranked for the Cavaliers are the No. 7 duo Richmond and Domijan, the No. 27 pair Shane and Julen Uriguen, as well as the No. 46 team of Frank and Domijan.

The Cavaliers come into the weekend ranked No. 1 in the latest ITA rankings with an 11-0 overall record, after they defeated Illinois, 7-0. The match against the Blue Devils will mark Virginia’s conference opener and will be the 84th overall meeting for the Duke and the Cavaliers, as Duke leads in the all-time series, 49-35. The two teams met earlier this season in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoors with Virginia defeating the Blue Devils, 4-0, on Feb. 16.

No. 52 Virginia Tech comes into the weekend with an overall 9-3 record and a 1-0 mark in conference play, as the squad defeated Boston College, 7-0. The Hokies boast two players ranked in singles and one ranked pair in doubles. Amerigo Contini leads the Hokies with a No. 73 listing, while Andreas Bjerrehus is ranked 91st. In doubles, the duo of Contini and Bjerrehus are the squad’s lone ranked tandem, as they are listed 21st. Sunday will mark the 26th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Blue Devils leading 23-2. Duke won the last match against Virginia Tech, 7-0, in Durham on March 25, 2012.

The match against Virginia will be featured on RadioTennis.com, as part of the USTA College MatchDay. Follow Duke men’s tennis on twitter (@Duke_MTEN) for live stats and updates throughout the weekend.