Blue Devils Rally, Top Hokies 4-1

Sunday, March 15

Blacksburg, Va.

1 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Duke men's tennis' Cooper Williams, wearing a black hat and blue shirt, takes a backhanded swing during a match.

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Rally, Top Hokies 4-1

3/15/2026 2:57:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Pedro Rodenas and Cooper Williams combined for three wins, two in singles and one in doubles, to help the No. 49 Duke men's tennis team past Virginia Tech, 4-1, on Sunday at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.

Rodenas and Williams improved to 5-0 in ACC doubles play with another victory on court one while Williams secured his third league singles triumph with the clinching point. He is 4-0 on court two so far this spring.

Rodenas' singles victory was the 28th in ACC play in his career to tie for the ninth most in program history. Rodenas also upped his ACC doubles wins to 27, tied for the fourth most in a Blue Devil career.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke (8-8, 3-3 ACC) picked up the first doubles decision as No. 11 Pedro Rodenas and Cooper Williams topped Blake Hilsen and Eyal Shumilov, 6-3, on court one. With the set tied 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3, Rodenas and Williams pulled away with the last three for the match. Rodenas and Williams are now 5-0 in ACC decisions and have won six straight overall.
Virginia Tech (5-9, 2-4 ACC) came back with a 6-3 win on court three as Ilyas Fahim and Julian Lozano defeated Saahith Jayaraman and Dylan Long. Duke's pair took a 2-0 lead, but the Hokies rallied to gain a 3-2 edge. The Blue Devils evened the set at 3-3, but Virginia Tech took the last three to end the match.
With the point coming down to court two, Drew Fishback and Frank Thompson topped Teddy Truwit and Gerard Planelles Ripoll, 6-4. Duke trailed 2-1, 3-1 and 4-2 before mounting a rally to knot the set at 4-4. The Hokies held and broke to end the set and secure the early 1-0 lead.
Rodenas made it a 1-1 match with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court one against Fahim. With the first set even at 3-3, Rodenas broke through with the final three games. He led 3-0 in the second before Fahim replied with consecutive games to cut the deficit to 3-2. No. 103 Rodenas quickly regained a two-game lead at 4-2 and held Fahim off for the match.
Minutes later on court four, Long downed Lozano 6-1, 6-4 to give Duke the lead. Long cruised through the first set before falling behind 2-0 in the second. He answered with three consecutive wins to go ahead, 3-2. The set was even at 3-3 and 4-4 before Long won the final two games for the match.
Jayaraman made it a 3-1 Blue Devil edge as he defeated Thomas Brandao 6-4, 6-0 on court five. The two were neck and neck in the first set with ties at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4. From there, Jayaraman won the final eight games to secure the match.
Williams clinched for Duke with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Shumilov on court two. No. 62 Williams took control of the opening set early with a 4-1 lead. Shumilov got it down to 4-2 and 5-3 but could get no closer. Williams trailed 2-1 in the second set before ripping off the final five for the match.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils return home to host Georgia Tech and Clemson next weekend. First serve for Friday's match against Georgia Tech is at 3 p.m. Sunday's tilt versus Clemson is set for 12 p.m.

RESULTS
Doubles (1,3,2)
1. #11 Pedro Rodenas/Cooper Williams (DU) def. Blake Hilsen/Eyal Shumilov (VT) 6-3
2. Drew Fishback/Frank Thompson (VT) def. Teddy Truwit/Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) 6-4
3. Ilyas Fahim and Julian Lozano (VT) def. Dylan Long/Saahith Jayaraman (DU) 6-3

Singles (1,4,5,2)
1. #103 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Ilyas Fahim (VT) 6-3, 6-3
2. #62 Cooper Williams (DU) def. Eyal Shumilov (VT) 6-3, 6-2
3. #123 Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) vs. Drew Fishback (VT) 3-6, 4-2, unfinished
4. Dylan Long (DU) def. Julian Lozano (VT) 6-1, 6-4
5. Saahith Jayaraman (DU) def. Thomas Brandao (VT) 6-4, 6-0
6. Teddy Truwit (DU) vs. Blake Hilsen (VT) 6-4, 2-1, unfinished

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