Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus Orange and Blue Classic on September 12, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs Orange and Blue Classic
Tuesday, October 5
Tulsa, Okla.
All Day
Duke University
vs
Qualifying Draw - Day Two
Duke Duo Advances into Main Draw at ITA All-American Championships
10/5/2021 9:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. – Duke's doubles team of Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang earned a spot in the main draw with a thrilling win Tuesday at the 2021 ITA All-American Championships.
After going 2-0 in doubles action Monday, Heller and Zhang topped 55th-ranked Ivailo Keremedchiev and Jesper Klov-Nilsson of Oregon on Tuesday afternoon 6-3, 6-4. The victory marked the first of the season over ranked doubles opponents for the Blue Devil tandem.
Heller and Zhang move on to the doubles main draw, where they will face Tulsa's 14th-ranked Connor Di Marco and Kody Pearson on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
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Zhang was also in action in singles play Tuesday, competing in the qualifying consolation draw. He defeated Abedallah Shelbayh of Florida in exciting three-set, come-from-behind fashion at 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
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Fellow teammates Garrett Johns and Sean Sculley were in action Tuesday as well. No. 51 Johns fell in a heartbreaker 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4 to No. 115 Chris Rodesch of Virginia in the second round of qualifying singles action. Sculley was bested by UTSA's No. 66-ranked Joao Ceolin 6-4, 6-2 in the qualifying consolation round.
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Johns and Sculley are not finished at the event though, as the pair make up the No. 9 ranked doubles team in the country. The duo will join Heller and Zhang in the main doubles draw after they were one of 20 teams automatically selected to field when the draws were first announced. The pair will battle against No. 21 Pavel Motl and Stijn Slump of Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
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SINGLES
Qualifying Opening Round (Monday)
No. 51 Garrett Johns (Duke) def. No. 121 Ilgiz Valiev (Texas Tech) 6-1, 6-2
Eric Hadigian (Pepperdine) def. Sean Sculley (Duke) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 105 Francois Musitelli (Kentucky) def. No. 120 Andrew Zhang (Duke) 6-1, 6-2
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Qualifying Second Round (Tuesday)
No. 115 Chris Rodesch (Virginia) def. No. 51 Garrett Johns (Duke) 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4
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Qualifying Consolation Round (Tuesday)
No. 120 Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. Abedallah Shelbayh (Florida) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 66 Joao Ceolin (UTSA) def. Sean Sculley (Duke) 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES
Qualifying Opening Round (Monday)
Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. Rithvik Bollipalli/Chase Ferguson (South Florida) 7-6 (4), 7-5
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Qualifying Second Round (Monday)
Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. Marino Jakic/Vito Tonejc (DePaul) 6-2, 6-3
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Qualifying Final Round (Tuesday)
Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. No. 55 Ivailo Keremedchiev/Jesper Klov-Nilsson (Oregon), 6-3, 6-4
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#GoDuke
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After going 2-0 in doubles action Monday, Heller and Zhang topped 55th-ranked Ivailo Keremedchiev and Jesper Klov-Nilsson of Oregon on Tuesday afternoon 6-3, 6-4. The victory marked the first of the season over ranked doubles opponents for the Blue Devil tandem.
Heller and Zhang move on to the doubles main draw, where they will face Tulsa's 14th-ranked Connor Di Marco and Kody Pearson on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
Â
Zhang was also in action in singles play Tuesday, competing in the qualifying consolation draw. He defeated Abedallah Shelbayh of Florida in exciting three-set, come-from-behind fashion at 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
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Fellow teammates Garrett Johns and Sean Sculley were in action Tuesday as well. No. 51 Johns fell in a heartbreaker 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4 to No. 115 Chris Rodesch of Virginia in the second round of qualifying singles action. Sculley was bested by UTSA's No. 66-ranked Joao Ceolin 6-4, 6-2 in the qualifying consolation round.
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Johns and Sculley are not finished at the event though, as the pair make up the No. 9 ranked doubles team in the country. The duo will join Heller and Zhang in the main doubles draw after they were one of 20 teams automatically selected to field when the draws were first announced. The pair will battle against No. 21 Pavel Motl and Stijn Slump of Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa.
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SINGLES
Qualifying Opening Round (Monday)
No. 51 Garrett Johns (Duke) def. No. 121 Ilgiz Valiev (Texas Tech) 6-1, 6-2
Eric Hadigian (Pepperdine) def. Sean Sculley (Duke) 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 105 Francois Musitelli (Kentucky) def. No. 120 Andrew Zhang (Duke) 6-1, 6-2
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Qualifying Second Round (Tuesday)
No. 115 Chris Rodesch (Virginia) def. No. 51 Garrett Johns (Duke) 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4
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Qualifying Consolation Round (Tuesday)
No. 120 Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. Abedallah Shelbayh (Florida) 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 66 Joao Ceolin (UTSA) def. Sean Sculley (Duke) 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES
Qualifying Opening Round (Monday)
Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. Rithvik Bollipalli/Chase Ferguson (South Florida) 7-6 (4), 7-5
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Qualifying Second Round (Monday)
Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. Marino Jakic/Vito Tonejc (DePaul) 6-2, 6-3
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Qualifying Final Round (Tuesday)
Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (Duke) def. No. 55 Ivailo Keremedchiev/Jesper Klov-Nilsson (Oregon), 6-3, 6-4
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#GoDuke
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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