Blue Devils Open Road Swing at Virginia Tech with 4-3 Victory

Friday, March 17

Blacksburg, Va.

12 p.m.

Duke University

[51] Virginia Tech

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Open Road Swing at Virginia Tech with 4-3 Victory

3/17/2023 4:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The 13th-ranked Duke men's tennis team opened the weekend with a 4-3 victory on the road at 63rd-ranked Virginia Tech on Friday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Va. The win for the Blue Devils was their fifth straight to move Duke to 11-4 overall and 4-0 in the ACC, while the Hokies dropped to 7-8, 1-3 on the season.

How It Happened
•   For the first time in ACC play this season, the Blue Devils dropped the doubles point as the Hokies collected wins on courts No. 1 and No. 3. The Blue Devils jumped out to leads, 2-1, on courts one and three, but Virginia Tech made a rally to take the lead.
•   Connor Krug and Teddy Truwit of the Blue Devils dropped a 6-3 decision to Matt Harper and Frank Thompson on the third court.
•   Duke's 59th-ranked Andrew Zhang and Michael Heller ended up falling, 6-4, to the 13th-ranked duo of Jordan Chrysostom and Ryan Fishback on the first court, which clinched the doubles point.
•   On court two, Duke's No. 71 Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas were trailing, 5-4, to Alvaro Saez-Royuela Ariza and Alberto Orso when the doubles point was clinched.
•   The Blue Devils came out in singles and won four of the six first sets.
•   Duke was able to come back and take its first lead of the match, 2-1, with singles wins on courts three and five.
•   Andrew Dale never trailed on court five as he registered a 6-2, 6-2 win over Harper, while Zhang collected a 6-0, 6-3 win over Manuel Concalves on court three.
•   Virginia Tech evened the match, 2-2, as Scott Sculley came back from dropping the first set against Krug, 6-4, and winning the second and third sets, 7-5, 6-3, on court four.
•   Duke regained the lead, 3-2, as Heller battled back after dropping the first set, 6-7 (4-7), to Hugo Maia on court six. Heller won the next two sets, 6-1, 6-1.
•   The Blue Devils clinched the match on court two as 73rd-ranked Rodenas registered a three-set victory over Ariza. After falling in the first set by a 6-3 score, Rodenas collected a key tiebreaking win, 7-6 (7-2), in the second set and then clinched the Duke victory with a 6-3 win in the third set.
•   After the match was decided, Duke's No. 12 ranked Johns fell on court one to No. 70 Fishback, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, in three sets.

Notes
•   Rodenas improved to 14-1 in dual match action and won his fifth straight singles contest.
•   Duke dropped the doubles point for only the fourth time this season out of its first 15 matches.
•   Dale registered his eighth straight singles victory, while improving to 4-0 in ACC action.
•   Heller remained undefeated in the ACC with a 2-0 record and posted his fourth straight singles win.

Quotes
"It was another gritty ACC road win & great team effort. VT is tough, especially on their indoor courts. We did a nice job of rebounding from dropping the doubles point & I am proud of how we really dug in on all 6 singles courts. Pedro really stepped up and came up clutch in 2nd & 3rd set to clinch the team win." -- Duke head coach Ramsey Smith

Next Match
Duke will next face No. 12 Virginia on Sunday, March 19 at 2:30 p.m., in Charlottesville, Va.

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Results
Doubles (3,1*)
1. #13 Jordan Chrysostom/Ryan Fishback (VT) def. #59 Andrew Zhang/Michael Heller (DU) 6-4
2. #71 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) vs. Alvaro Saez-Royuela Ariza/Alberto Orso (VT) 4-5, unf.
3. Matt Harper/Frank Thompson (VT) def. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU)

Singles (5,3,4,6,2*,1)
1. #70 Ryan Fishback (VT) def. #12 Garrett Johns (DU) 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
2. Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Alvaro Saez-Royuela Zriza (VT) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Manuel Concalves (VT) 6-0, 6-3
4. Scott Sculley (VT) def. Connor Krug (DU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Matt Harper (VT) 6-2, 6-2
6. Michael Heller (DU) def. Hugo Maia (VT) 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-1