A Virginia Road Swing Awaits Men's Tennis

Match 15
[49] Duke at [2] Virginia – Friday at 3 p.m.
Watch | Live Results

Match 16
[49] Duke at Virginia Tech – Sunday at 1 p.m.
Watch | Live Results

DURHAM, N.C. – Fresh off a weekend ACC split, it's right back to league action for the No. 49 Duke men's tennis team. The Blue Devils travel to No. 2 Virginia for a 3 p.m. Friday tilt before closing the weekend at Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. Sunday.

WILLIAMS FINDING HIS GROOVE IN SINGLES ...
Cooper Williams has played some of his strongest tennis with the start of the outdoor campaign. Since shifting to the second court, Williams is 3-0 with two additional unfinished matches he was leading. Last Friday at SMU, Williams topped No. 107 Alex Finkelstein 6-2, 6-2 for his first ranked victory of the outdoor season.

... AND STILL ROLLING IN DOUBLES
Williams and Pedro Rodenas won both their doubles matches last weekend to improve to 10-2 in dual competition. The duo, ranked No. 11 nationally, has won its last five matches. Williams and Rodenas registered their biggest ranked win of the campaign against Stanford with a 6-4 triumph versus the No. 8 team of Alex Chang and Alex Razeghi.

Williams and Rodenas are 4-0 in ACC play. The Duke record for ACC wins by a doubles team in a season is 11, set by Henrique Cunha and Raphael Hemmeler in 2013. Eight ACC wins enters a Blue Devil pair into the single season top-10 chart.

RODENAS RECORD WATCH
With Rodenas' strong doubles start to ACC play, he continues his climb up the Duke career record charts for league competition. In doubles, Rodenas has played 31 ACC matches, three shy of the top-10 list, while his 26 league doubles wins are tied for sixth in Duke history. Cunha (2010-13) tops the Duke ACC doubles wins ledger with 35.

In ACC play, Rodenas has taken part in 35 singles matches, five shy of cracking the Duke top-12 chart. He owns 27 ACC singles victories, just one short of a tie for the ninth most in program history. Fred Saba (2011-14) owns the Blue Devil record with 35 ACC singles wins.

Overall, the Madrid, Spain, native owns 91 career wins, just nine shy of becoming the 17th member of Duke's 100-win club.

LAST TIME OUT
The Blue Devils blanked Boston College, 5-0. Duke earned doubles wins on courts one (6-3) and three (6-2). In singles, Rodenas, Dylan Long, Gerard Planelles Ripoll and Saahith Jayaraman earned straight-set wins to complete the sweep.

HISTORY WITH VIRGINIA
Friday's match marks the 104th between the two with Duke owning a 53-50 edge. Last February in Durham, Duke snapped a nine-match losing streak to the Cavaliers with a 5-2 victory. In that contest, the Blue Devils topped the No. 5 Cavaliers with the doubles point and wins on courts two, four, five and six. Rodenas and Williams are the only current Blue Devils who took part in that match. Rodenas clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against James Hopper on court two while Williams fell 6-2, 6-2 to Rafael Jodar on the top court. Williams won his doubles match 6-3 on court two with Rodenas dropping his 6-3 on court one.

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
Virginia is 12-2 overall and 4-0 in ACC action. The Cavaliers rose to No. 2 nationally this week. Dylan Dietrich is the No. 1 ranked singles player nationally and is 9-1 in dual action, all on court one. Keegan Rice is close behind at No. 14 and owns an identical 9-1 dual ledger, going 8-1 on court two and 1-0 on the top court. Andres Santamarta Roig checks in at No. 28 with an 8-2 dual mark. Jangjun Kim rounds out the Cavaliers' ranked individuals at No. 84 with an 8-3 record. Santamarta Roig and Kim have split action on courts three and four, combining to go 7-2 in the third slot and 8-2 on court four. UVA brings three ranked doubles teams into competition with No. 3 Mans Dahlberg and Dietrich (12-0 overall), No. 9 Dietrich and Stiles Brockett (7-2 overall) and No. 37 Dahlberg and Kim (7-3 overall).

HISTORY WITH VIRGINIA TECH
Duke and Virginia Tech meet for the 40th time. The Blue Devils lead the series 33-6. After dropping consecutive decisions in 2015 and 2016, Duke has won seven of the last nine. Last spring in Durham, the Blue Devils won 5-0 thanks to a doubles point and wins on two, four, five and six. Rodenas, Williams, Planelles Ripoll and Alexander Visser experienced action in the match with Rodenas and Williams picking up doubles wins while Rodenas and Visser secured singles triumphs.

SCOUTING THE HOKIES
The Hokies own a 4-8 overall mark and 1-3 ACC ledger. Ilyas Fahim has played exclusively on the top court and gone 5-3. Patrik Jurina is 5-2 on court two with Eyal Shumilov 3-3 in the third slot. In doubles, Blake Hilsen and Shumilov have teamed most often on court one, going 2-4 there. Fahim and Jurina are the regular No. 2 team with a 3-5 ledger.

RANKINGS ENTERING THE WEEKEND
Duke is No. 49 as a team while three Blue Devils and one duo are ranked as well with No. 62 Williams, No. 103 Rodenas and No. 123 Planelles Ripoll. In doubles, Williams and Rodenas are No. 11.

UP NEXT
Duke is back at home, welcoming No. 55 Georgia Tech to the Ambler Tennis Stadium for a 3 p.m. Friday, March 20 match. Clemson, ranked No. 34, rounds out the weekend with a 12 p.m. Sunday, March 22 tilt.

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

#GoDuke

A Virginia Road Swing Awaits Men's Tennis

Players Mentioned

Saahith Jayaraman

Dylan Long

Gerard Planelles Ripoll

Pedro Rodenas

Alexander Visser

Cooper Williams

Duke information

A Virginia Road Swing Awaits Men's Tennis

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Players Mentioned

Saahith Jayaraman

Dylan Long

Gerard Planelles Ripoll

Pedro Rodenas

Alexander Visser

Cooper Williams

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Duke information