Duke Rallies For 4-3 Win at No. 18 Wake Forest

Wednesday, April 7

Winston-Salem, N.C.

3:00 p.m.

Duke University

Wake Forest

Five Duke Players Win First Matches of Duke Invitational

Duke Rallies For 4-3 Win at No. 18 Wake Forest

4/7/2010 8:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - No. 20 Duke faced four match points, down 3-2, and battled back for a 4-3 road victory at No. 18 Wake Forest on Wednesday.

"That was a heck of a college tennis match and we were very fortunate to sneak out of here with a win," said head coach Ramsey Smith. "I couldn't be prouder of how we fought at the end of this match. Reid (Carleton), Luke (Marchese) and Henrique (Cunha) came up with huge wins in singles."
Tripper Carleton, the younger brother of Duke junior Reid Carleton, had four chances to clinch the match for the Demon Deacons against the Blue Devils' top player, freshman Henrique Cunha. The No. 1 match went three sets with Cunha fighting back to win in a third-set tiebreaker 8-6. His victory evened the match up at 3-3 and extended his winning streak to 10 matches. He is 25-5 on the season with an 11-2 record at the No. 1 spot in the order.

Cunha's victory set things up for the final match to go on, the No. 6 singles contest between Duke's Luke Marchese and Zach Leslie of Wake Forest. Marchese won the first set in a tiebreaker and then closed it out in straight sets, 6-3, to give the Blue Devils the victory. He has won his last eight singles contests and is now 6-0 in ACC matches and 15-6 overall.

Reid Carleton also earned his 15th win of the season. He upset No. 56 Steven Forman at the No. 2 slot, coming back from a first set loss to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. It was his sixth victory over a ranked opponent this year.

"Reid overcame a tough first set and played some of the best tennis I've seem from him all year," said Smith. "Without Reid making that comeback we had no chance. Henrique saved four team match points in the third set and simply willed himself to victory keeping the team match alive. Luke continued his great play and finished things off convincingly in the decider."

Earlier in the match, the Blue Devils swept the doubles matches to pick up the first team point. The No. 3 team in the country, Carleton and Cunha, won their 13th straight match, defeating No. 14 Iain Atkinson and Forman, 9-7. It was the eighth win over a ranked duo as the Duke pair improve to 31-4 overall.

Duke is now 12-6 overall on the season and overtake Wake Forest in the ACC standings at 5-1 in league play. The Demon Deacons fall to 5-2 in the ACC and 11-6 overall.

The Blue Devils will have two home matches this weekend. On Saturday they will face No. 24 Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. and on Sunday they host No. 40 Clemson at 12 noon.

Tennis Match Results
Duke vs Wake Forest
April 7, 2010 at Winston-Salem, N.C.

#20 Duke 4, #18 Wake Forest 3

Doubles
1. #3 Carleton/Cunha (Duke) def. #14 Iain Atkinson/Steven Forman (WF) 9-7
2. #80 Arnould/David Holland (Duke) def. Jason Morgenstern/Jon Wolff (WF) 8-5
3. #63 Michel/Wietoska (Duke) def. Tripper Carleton/Zach Leslie (WF) 8-5

Singles
1. #11 Henrique Cunha (Duke) def. #42 Tripper Carleton (WF) 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (8-6)
2. Reid Carleton (Duke) def. #56 Steven Forman (WF) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
3. Jon Wolff (WF) def. Torsten Wietoska (Duke) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. #101 Iain Atkinson (WF) def. #87 Dylan Arnould (Duke) 6-4, 6-3
5. Danny Kreyman (WF) def. David Holland (Duke) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
6. Luke Marchese (Duke) def. Zach Leslie (WF) 7-6, 6-3

Match Notes:
Duke 12-6, 5-1 ACC; National ranking #20
Wake Forest 11-6, 5-2 ACC; National ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,2,5,3,1,6)