Duke Falls to Georgia Tech, 4-3, in Tight Battle

Friday, March 20

Durham, N.C.

5 p.m.

Duke University

Georgia Tech

Duke's Cooper Williams, wearing a black hat and blue shirt, fist pumps in celebration.

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Falls to Georgia Tech, 4-3, in Tight Battle

3/20/2026 9:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. — The Duke men's tennis team dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to Georgia Tech Friday evening at Ambler Outdoor Tennis Stadium. After conceding the doubles point, the Blue Devils rallied with three straight-set singles victories to take a 3-1 lead, but the Yellow Jackets answered late to secure the match, 4-3.

No. 51 Duke falls to 8-9 and 3-4 in ACC action, while No. 52 Georgia Tech improves to 10-7 and 2-5 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke's 10th-ranked doubles pair of senior Pedro Rodenas and junior Cooper Williams gave the Blue Devils a strong start on court one, racing out to a 4-0 lead and winning five of the first six games. The duo maintained control throughout, closing out a 6-2 victory over Christophe Clement and Hidde Schoenmakers.
On court three, freshman Dylan Long and sophomore Saahith Jayaraman kept things tight early with Gianluca Carlini and Elias Shokry with ties at 1-1 and 2-2, but Georgia Tech used a late push, winning there out of the final four games to secure a 6-3 win and even the doubles competition at one each.
The doubles point came down to court two, where senior Gerard Planelles Ripoll and senior Teddy Truwit battled back from a 4-2 deficit against Jonathan Irwanto and Richard Biagiotti to pull within 5-4. In the deciding game, the Blue Devils built a 30-0 lead before Georgia Tech responded and forced deuce. The Yellow Jackets capitalized, holding serve for a 6-4 win to clinch the doubles point.
Duke responded in singles play, with No. 56 Williams putting the Blue Devils on the board first on court two. After the score reached 3-3 in the first set, Williams won three of the next four games to take the set 6-4 from Schoenmakers. In the second, the two still remained even through 3-3 before Williams broke again to secure a 6-4, 6-4 victory and even the match at 1-1.
No. 95 Rodenas followed on court one, using a mid-set surge in the first to build a 4-2 advantage against Clement before eventually carrying it 6-4. In the second set, Rodenas broke a 3-3 tie by winning three of the final four games to secure a 6-3 win.
Planelles Ripoll extended Duke's lead to 3-1 with a steady performance on court three. In both sets against Carlini, Planelles Ripoll broke through late, turning 3-3 ties into two 6-4 set wins by taking three of the final four games in each set.
Georgia Tech responded on court five, where Shokry defeated Jayaraman 6-4, 6-4 to cut the deficit to 3-2. In the opening set, Jayaraman stayed within reach, 3-3 before Shokry pulled away and won the set 6-4. The Yellow Jacket carried the momentum into the second building a quick 5-1 lead. Jayaraman came back late winning three games in a row, but eventually fell, 6-4.
The match tightened to 3-3 as Georgia Tech earned a win on court six. Truwit battled through a back-and-forth first set with Biagiotti, sending it to a tiebreak. Truwit fell 7-4 in the tiebreaker to drop the first set. In the second, Truwit stayed within a break throughout, but Georgia Tech closed it out 6-4.
The deciding point came down to court four. Long carried the first set handily 6-2, before dropping the second set 1-6 to force a decisive third. The third set was tied throughout with neither player able to gain a service break, until Georgia Tech's Irwanto broke Long's serve to take a 6-5 advantage. Long battled to force the match to a match deuce point, but fell 7-5.

QUOTES

"That one stings. It feels like a match we put ourselves in a position to win, especially after losing the doubles point. It felt as if we competed just a little passive at times and they were the more aggressive team down the stretch. We'll just try to fine tune some things and keep getting a little bit better. Clemson's very good. They're a tough team, so we have to take care of our bodies, put in some good work tomorrow and get back at it on Sunday." — Duke head coach Ramsey Smith

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils will host Clemson on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Ambler Outdoor Tennis Stadium.

RESULTS
Doubles (1,3,2)

#10 Pedro Rodenas/Cooper Williams (DU) def. Christophe Clement/Hidde Schoenmakers (GT) 6-2
Jonathan Irwanto/Richard Biagiotti (GT) def. Gerard Planelles Ripoll/Teddy Truwit (DU) 6-4
Gianluca Carlini/Elias Shokry (GT) def. Dylan Long/Saahith Jayaraman (DU) 6-3