Duke Sets Program Record After Senior Day Win

Sunday, April 16

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

[19] Florida State

Duke poses for a team picture prior to its match with Florida State

Duke Sets Program Record After Senior Day Win

4/16/2023 8:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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DURHAM – No. 13 Duke men's tennis achieved a program record with its 11th ACC win on Sunday afternoon after it defeated No. 19 Florida State, 4-3, at Ambler Tennis Stadium.

The 11 conference wins were the most by the Blue Devils since 2014, when they registered 10 en route to a 20-7 overall finish. Duke improves to 18-5 overall, which is its best record since 2014-15 when it went 24-7. Florida State dips to 17-7 and 8-4, respectively.

In addition, Duke secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ACC Championships next week. The Blue Devils will take on the winner of seventh-seeded Louisville and 10th-seeded Notre Dame on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.

How It Happened

For the third consecutive match, Duke secured the doubles point following victories on court one and three, respectively. No. 27 senior Garrett Johns and freshman Pedro Rodenas remained undefeated in ACC action with their seventh win after besting Alex Bulte and Loris Pourroy on the top court, 6-3.
The next doubles match to finish was on court two, where Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc and Joshua Dous Karpenschif defeated No. 44 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang, 6-4.
With the doubles match coming down to the outcome on court three, the sophomore-freshman duo of Connor Krug and Teddy Truwit registered a thrilling 7-6 (3) tiebreak victory over Maks Silagy and Barnaby Smith to secure the point.
No. 67 Rodenas extended Duke's lead in singles play with 6-2, 6-3 wins over Pourroy on court two.
The Seminoles would not go away though, tallying two victories on court four and five, respectively, to pull even at 2-2. Dous-Karpenschif posted a 6-2, 6-4 win over Krug, before Andreja Petrovic beat Andrew Dale 6-4, 6-2.
No. 14 Johns quickly gave the Blue Devils back their edge after he recorded the highest ranked win of his career following a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 4 Cornut-Chauvinc on the main court.
After an hour-plus rain delay, Faris Khan clinched the win for Duke when he bested Jamie Connel on court six in three sets. Connel recorded a 6-3 win in the opening frame, but Khan rebounded for 6-4, 6-3 victories in the next two sets to earn the comeback win.
The match on court three between Zhang and No. 114 Youcef Rihane was the last to finish. Zhang tallied a thrilling 7-6 (11) tiebreak win in the opening frame but dropped the next two, 6-2, 6-3.

Notes

Duke is now riding a season-long seven-match winning streak.
The Blue Devils set a program record with their 11th ACC win of the season.
Duke posted its 12th victory over a ranked opponent.
Rodenas extended his winning streak to seven-straight matches, while Khan has tallied four consecutive wins.
Rodenas remains undefeated on court two with a mark of 12-0.
Johns and Rodenas improved to 14-2 in dual doubles matches and 7-0 in the ACC.
Duke honored three seniors prior to the match in Heller, Johns and Zhang.

Quotes
"We've done a great job of just continuing to build throughout the year. We had some tough matches early where we didn't push through, but we've been very dedicated to working on the mental game weekly and TJ Pura has really led that drive. It's allowing the guys to play free in the big moments. In these matches, it just comes down to a couple points here and there and you need to have your head when you're in those situations. Today was a perfect example of that, especially with number three doubles and Faris' match at the end. And then Andrew Zhang, even though he lost his match, what he did in that first set was massive for the momentum. It's exciting for me to see the guys pushing through in these big matches and I'm just really proud of them. This was an extra special weekend with it being our senior weekend and our alumni weekend. We had over 60 former men's tennis players this year on campus and we had an unbelievable alumni tennis event and dinner last night with all of them. It's just so cool to see the support from the former players and they really helped push us through this weekend." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith

"It's immeasurable what they've done. Michael Heller can affect a match without hitting a ball or winning a match, and [Andrew] Zhang leads with his consistency day in and day out. Garrett is our on-court leader and our leader in professionalism and mental toughness. These three are friends for life and it's just cool to see what they've built through their leadership." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on this year's senior class and their contributions

"FSU's No. 1 is one of the very best players in college tennis. With Garrett [Johns], when he prepares the right way, which is almost all the time, you just know he has a chance against anybody. Garrett is a neat example of growth and development. He was listed at seven in our first match his freshman year and now he's one of the best players in the country. It's cool to see that development and it's all due to his commitment to his game and his willingness to put the work in." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on senior Garrett Johns' development

"It starts with the grittiness and the willingness to be uncomfortable to push themselves week in and week out. I think the cohesiveness of the team has really helped. We've won a lot of matches from our team support. We've been consistent with that and there has been full buy-in from the guys. We're enjoying these big moments and trying not to overthink things. We haven't been looking at the numbers next to our name or next to our opponents' names. We just prepare the best we can for every single match. When we control what we can control the results have come." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his team setting a program record in ACC wins

"We're going to enjoy this one and then get back to work. We play on Friday at 6 p.m. All matches are going to be tough but really we just have great opportunities ahead of us. We're encouraging the guys to just take advantage of these opportunities. It's postseason and it's a whole new ballgame. Again, just an exciting opportunity and we want to keep building. – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on the upcoming ACC Championships next week

"It means a lot. I want to start off by saying thank you to my mom for supporting me. In addition, my uncle and twin brother helped me work on my technique a little bit during winter break as well as talking with TJ [Pura]. I feel like that really helped me get started and changed my trajectory." – Duke junior Faris Khan on helping Duke clinch its program record-setting 11th ACC victory

"We really got a lot closer together by starting the year off by going to Hawai'i. It was definitely a great experience. We've continued to work hard together, and I feel like that's making us closer." – Duke junior Faris Khan on the team chemistry

Next Match
The Blue Devils have a quick turnaround before heading to the ACC Championships in Cary, N.C. beginning Friday. Duke is slated to face off against the winner of seventh-seeded Louisville and 10th-seeded Notre Dame at 6 p.m.

If Duke advances past the quarterfinals on Friday, the Blue Devils will have a 2 p.m., semifinal match on Saturday. The championship will be played on Sunday at 2 p.m. Both the semifinals and finals will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMTEN".

Results
Doubles (1,2,3*)
1. #27 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Alex Bulte/Loris Pourroy (FSU) 6-3
2. A. Cornut-Chauvinc/J. Dous-Karpenschif (FSU) def. #44 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) 6-4
3. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Maks Silagy/Barnaby Smith (FSU) 7-6 (7-3)

Singles (2,4,5,1,6*,3)
1. #14 Garrett Johns (DU) def. #4 A. Cornut-Chauvinc (FSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #67 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Loris Pourroy (FSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. #114 Youcef Rihane (FSU) def. Andrew Zhang (DU) 6-7 (11-13), 6-2, 6-3
4. J. Dous-Karpenschif (FSU) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Andreja Petrovic (FSU) def. Andrew Dale (DU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Faris Khan (DU) def. Jamie Connel (FSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3

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