Blue Devils to Play For ACC Championship Sunday

Saturday, April 24

Cary, N.C.

1:00 p.m.

Duke University

Wake Forest (Semifinals)

Blue Devils to Play For ACC Championship Sunday

4/24/2010 5:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

CARY, N.C. - The top two seeds in the ACC Tournament will face each other in the championship game on Sunday as second-seeded Duke defeated Wake Forest, 4-0, Saturday afternoon to set up a match with Virginia, the No. 1 team in the country.

"I am excited to be in this position," said head coach Ramsey Smith. "We are playing at a high level right now and are peaking at the right time. This was a hard fought match and was pretty close despite the 4-0 final. I was proud of our guys. Once again we played really well in doubles and it was a great match."

The Blue Devils will play in the ACC Championship match for the first time since 2006 when they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Virginia, 4-3. Duke has won 12 ACC titles, the second most in ACC history. The Cavaliers have won each of the last three titles and will be playing the championship match for the seventh straight year. Duke is now 18-7 heading into tomorrow's match.

"We are very excited because before this year nobody on this team had ever been past the quarterfinals," said senior Dylan Arnould.

The deciding match in Duke's 4-0 win on Saturday was between a set of brothers, Reid and Tripper Carleton. Reid, a junior for the Blue Devils, and Tripper, a freshman at Wake Forest, had never faced each other in a competitive tennis match prior to Saturday. Tripper swept the first set 6-0 and Reid took the second 6-3. With the Blue Devils leading 3-0 and three tight matches at the bottom of the order, Reid finished out the No. 2 match with a 6-4 third-set win to send Duke on to the finals.

"It is a tough situation and I can't imagine what those guys (Reid and Tripper) were thinking playing each other for the first time," said Smith. "I am just really proud of Reid for how he handled the situation. We couldn't ask for any more from him."

For the second straight day it was the No. 1 and 3 doubles teams giving the Blue Devils the early point in the match. Both duos were down a break early in their matches but both bounced back for wins. Alain Michel and Torsten Wietoska ended up cruising to an 8-3 win at the No. 3 spot and after trailing 3-0, No. 1 Carleton and Henrique Cunha defeated No. 19 Iain Atkinson and Steven Forman, 8-6, to clinch the point. The top-ranked duo for Duke improved to 37-5 and 20-2 in dual matches.

Cunha, ranked No. 7 in singles, continued his dominance in singles, winning his 17th straight match. He downed No. 27 Forman in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 for his 20th win over a ranked opponent (20-3). He is now 32-5 overall, moving into a tie for the fourth most victories by a freshman in Duke history and 10th most in a single season by a Blue Devil.

Arnould picked up his 16th victory of the season with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Atkinson. Earlier this season Atkinson defeated Arnould 6-4, 6-3, but the result was switched this time around as Arnould put the Blue Devils in front 3-0.

"Dylan played great today and we really needed that from him," said Smith. "He had a really good mindset from the beginning of the match and was very aggressive. That was a key match for us."

Sunday's championship match will begin at 11 a.m. at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.

Tennis Match Results
ACC Tournament Semifinals
Wake Forest vs Duke
April 24, 2010 at Cary, N.C.

#17 Duke 4, #23 Wake Forest 0

Doubles
1. #1 Reid Carleton/Henrique Cunha (Duke) def. #19 Iain Atkinson/Steven Forman (WF) 8-6
2. #77 Dylan Arnould/David Holland (Duke) vs. Danny Kreyman/Jon Wolff (WF) 6-4, unfinished
3. Alain Michel/Torsten Wietoska (Duke) def. Tripper Carleton/Zach Leslie (WF) 8-3

Singles
1. #7 Henrique Cunha (Duke) def. #27 Steven Forman (WF) 6-2, 6-3
2. #76 Reid Carleton (Duke) def. #38 Tripper Carleton (WF) 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. #105 Dylan Arnould (Duke) def. #106 Iain Atkinson (WF) 6-3, 6-3
4. Torsten Wietoska (Duke) vs. Jon Wolff (WF) 6-3, 3-6, 0-2, unfinished
5. Jared Pinsky (Duke) vs. Danny Kreyman (WF) 6-2, 3-6, 6-6, unfinished
6. Luke Marchese (Duke) vs. Zach Leslie (WF) 4-6, 6-4, 4-1, unfinished

Match Notes:
Wake Forest 15-9, 7-4 ACC; National ranking #23
Duke 18-7, 9-2 ACC; National ranking #17
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,3,2)

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