College Tennis News - Blue Devils Ready For Arizona State On Saturday

The Duke men’s tennis team will return to action for the first time in over two weeks on Saturday when they face No. 23 Arizona State at 1 p.m. in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill.
2008 NCAA Tournament
The first and second rounds of the 2008 NCAA men’s tennis tournament will be hosted by the top 16 seeds. Duke will travel eight miles to Chapel Hill for the regional hosted by North Carolina. The Blue Devils (10-13) will take on Arizona State (15-4) in the first round on Saturday, May 10 at 1 p.m. while the Tar Heels (19-5) host South Carolina State (18-3) at 10 a.m. in the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.

Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament
This marks the 17th consecutive appearance for Duke and 18th overall in school history. The Blue Devils have won at least one match in all 16 NCAA Tournaments under current head coach Jay Lapidus and have an all-time record of 32-17. They have reached the round of eight six times with the most recent coming in 2001.

Duke vs. the Field
The Blue Devils have faced all three teams in their regional before with a perfect 2-0 record against Arizona State and 1-0 mark against South Carolina State. Duke trails the all-time series with North Carolina 31-75. The Blue Devils’ only meeting with South Carolina State was in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament when they earned a 4-0 sweep. Duke has never faced Arizona State or North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.

Scouting Arizona State
The Sun Devils enter the NCAA Tournament with a 15-4 overall record on the season. They started the season 12-0 before going 3-4 down the stretch. ASU has two ranked singles players and one ranked doubles squad. No. 74 Matt Brooklyn plays at No. 1 and is 20-12 overall. No. 69 Andres Arango is the No. 2 player with a record of 15-8. Wes Miller finished second in his flight at the PAC-10 Championships and is 24-10 on the year. In doubles No. 44 Brooklyn and TJ Bellama are 18-8 for the year and were PAC-10 runner-ups.

Last Year’s Tournament
The Blue Devils entered the 2007 NCAA Tournament as a regional host and began with an easy 4-0 win over UMBC in the first round. Duke then faced Alabama in the second round and with a 1-0 lead after doubles play was suspended due to inclement weather. When play resumed indoors over three hours later the Crimson Tide won four of the six singles contests to advance forward and eliminate the Blue Devils with a 4-3 win. Alex Stone and Peter Rodrigues each earned singles victories for Duke in the loss. David Goulet was forced to retire with the score 1-1 in the first set of his singles match to give Alabama a 2-1 lead.

NCAA Individual Championships
Senior David Goulet has been selected to compete in the NCAA Singles Championships held May 21-26 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. Goulet received an at-large bid after posting a singles record of 17-10 on the season. He played 15 matches at the No. 1 singles spot and was 7-4 in the ACC. He has a team-high five victories over ranked opponents. He is also an alternate with teammate Christopher Price for the doubles championships as the two finished the year 17-14 with four wins over ranked pairs.

ACC Tournament
Duke advanced to the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament in Altamonte Springs, Fla. with an opening round 4-0 win over Boston College. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals with a 4-0 loss to Florida State.
All-ACC
David Goulet and Reid Carleton were named to the 2008 All-ACC team. Goulet posted a 17-10 record in singles with a 7-4 record in the ACC. Carleton has a team-best 25-9 overall record and went 8-3 in his first season of ACC competition.

Blue Devils in Regular Season
The Blue Devils finished the 2007-08 regular season with a 9-12 record overall and 6-5 mark in conference play. They are currently ranked No. 43 in the ITA team rankings and have been ranked as high as No. 10 during the season. Duke earned seven wins over ranked opponents and finished the regular season with two straight victories. All 12 losses were to ranked opponents with 10 coming to teams ranked in the top-25 and six to teams ranked in the top-10 at the time of the match.

Tale of the 4-3 Matches
This season has been a story of tightly contested matches for the Blue Devils that end in a 4-3 final score. A total of nine matches this season have ended at 4-3 with seven of those matches coming down to the final singles contest and the score tied 3-3. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils luck has not been on their side as they have lost seven of the nine close outings, including six on the final match of the day. Duke had five matches in the ACC end at 4-3 and posted a 2-3 record in those matches. They won the first against N.C. State and the last against Georgia Tech with losses to North Carolina, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.

Future Looks Bright
Duke’s three freshman all contributed to the Blue Devils this season. Reid Carleton has been impressive in his first year, leading the team with a 25-9 overall record while playing primarily at the No. 2 or 3 positions. Christopher Price teamed with David Goulet at the No. 1 doubles spot for a 17-14 overall record. Alain Michel came on strong late in the season, winning his final three ACC matches and to finish 3-1 in the league. He is 9-8 overall for the year.

Freshman Leads Way
Reid Carleton, a native of Naples, Fla., has been one of the most consistent players for Duke this season. He has recorded the most singles victories of anybody on the team with a 25-9 record. He led the team with an 8-3 mark in ACC matches and is 15-5 in dual match play. He is 7-2 at the No. 2 spot in the order and 7-3 when playing at No. 3. He also has posted four wins over ranked opponents.

Senior Steps Up
After playing primarily at the No. 4 or 5 spot in the order last season, senior David Goulet has jumped to the No. 1 position to close out this season. He started at the No. 2 position and went 6-1 before taking over the top spot. He has a 7-8 record as the No.1 player this season and went 7-4 in the ACC. He is second on the team with a 17-10 overall record and reached 80 career victories with a win against Clemson. He also clinched two matches for the Blue Devils this season.

Dimitrov Successful at No. 3
Junior Kiril Dimitrov missed three matches in early March due to an illness and struggled to get back into the flow. He lost nine straight matches at one point but has since come on strong with six wins in his last nine matches. He was just 2-4 at the No. 1 spot and 0-5 at the No. 2 position but once he was moved down to No. 3 he has picked up his play and given the Blue Devils a spark with a 6-3 record in that spot. He has a 16-17 overall record with a 5-6 mark in the ACC. The Sofia, Bulgaria native has won 15 or more matches in all three of his seasons at Duke.

Arnould Anchors Middle of Lineup
Sophomore Dylan Arnould posted another successful season for the Blue Devils with a 17-14 overall record and 6-4 mark in the ACC. He recorded a 11-6 record when playing at the No. 4 spot in the order this season and led the team with three match-clinching victories, all of which came in ACC play.

Doubles Point
As is usually the case, the doubles point has proven a key to success for the Blue Devils. When they win the doubles point they are 10-3 this season while they have been unable to come back after losing the doubles point with a 0-10 record in those matches. Dylan Arnould and Alex Stone lead the way with five wins to clinch the doubles point.

Blue Devils in the Rankings
As of April 28, Duke had two players ranked in the ITA singles rankings and one doubles team ranked. David Goulet is the highest ranked Blue Devil at No. 55. He has been ranked as high as No. 33 this season. Reid Carleton is currently No. 78 and has been ranked as high as No. 39 in his first collegiate season. Dylan Arnould and Kiril Dimitrov have also been ranked at one point this year. Goulet and Christopher Price are No. 33 in doubles. Goulet was ranked No. 13 in the preseason with Arnould.

Playing the Best of the Best
Not only has 20 of Duke’s 23 opponents on the year been ranked but the Blue Devils have also faced 50 ranked individuals and 20 ranked doubles tandems this season. Duke’s players have earned victories against 15 ranked singles players. David Goulet leads the way with five wins over ranked foes while Reid Carleton is 4-3 against ranked players. Kiril Dimitrov has three wins, Dylan Arnould has two victories and Alex Stone has one on the year. In doubles Goulet and Christopher Price have teamed up to win four matches against ranked opponents while Arnould and Stone also have a victory over a ranked duo to their credit.