Duke Sweeps Spartans, 7-0, in Dual Match Opener

Friday, January 16

Durham, N.C.

6:00 PM

Duke University

Michigan State

Duke Sweeps Spartans, 7-0, in Dual Match Opener

1/16/2015 9:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The 12th-ranked Duke men's tennis program kicked off dual match play with a strong showing, recording a 7-0 sweep of No. 63 Michigan State Friday evening in the home opener at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The squad captured the doubles point and got off to a quick start in singles before outlasting the visiting Spartans on a few remaining courts in the non-conference matchup.

“Michigan State is a tough team and they certainly pushed us in a couple different spots,” said head coach Ramsey Smith. “If you look at the score, we won every match, but they were in a bunch of them – especially during singles. They're a good, aggressive team. I thought our guys competed really well and we won a lot of big points.”

The duo of senior Raphael Hemmeler and freshman Nicolas Alvarez paced the Blue Devils to a solid start in doubles, going up a break early against Michigan State's 56th-ranked pair of John Patrick Mullane and Harry Jadun on court one.

The other two matches remained on serve until redshirt senior Chris Mengel and junior Bruno Semenzato broke late in the No. 3 contest and went on to defeat Gijs Linders and Brett Forman, 6-3. Hemmeler and Alvarez quickly followed suit, locking up a 6-4 victory over their ranked Spartan opponents to put Duke up by a point heading into singles. Mengel and Semenzato improved to 3-0 as a tandem with the win, while Hemmeler and Alvarez moved their overall ledger to 9-1.

“I thought Nico did a great job in doubles,” Smith said. “As a freshman, to start off at one doubles your first dual match at home can be a little unnerving, but he definitely seemed composed. I thought he and Rafa did a great job out there.”

In addition, the doubles win on court one also marked the 100th of Hemmeler's career. The 100 doubles victories rank him seventh all-time in the program's record book.

On court two, senior Jason Tahir and junior Josh Levine were on serve at 4-5 against Michigan State's Mac Roy and Michael Dube when the match was abandoned.

Tahir, the 36th-ranked player in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll, led the Blue Devils off the courts in singles. He dispatched Mullane, 6-2, in the first set on court one and remained stalwart in the second set, winning 6-4 to move his singles mark to 13-5 on the year.

“Jason's been great for us,” Smith said. “Last year he made a jump from six all the way to one. There was a little adjustment period but he got settled pretty quickly. He's playing some really good tennis right now.”

Mengel edged Roy in the first set on court five, 6-4, and cruised to a 6-1 second set win to make the score 3-0. Eighteenth-ranked Alvarez closed out a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 76 Linders just seconds later, clinching the match for Duke. With the decisions, Mengel improved to 4-4 overall and Alvarez collected his team-leading 17th singles win of the 2014-15 campaign.

In the No. 6 matchup, Levine and Dube of the Spartans traded breaks early before Levine claimed the first set, 7-5. After falling behind 1-3 in the second set, Levine battled back to emerge the winner, 6-4. Semenzato and Forman split the first two sets on court three before Semenzato, the 112th-ranked player in the ITA singles poll, took the third set super tiebreak by a 10-5 score to improve to 15-5 overall. Hemmeler, the 103rd-ranked player in the country, added a three-set decision from the No. 4 position to secure the 7-0 sweep for the Blue Devils.

Duke will face another ranked opponent in its next contest, traveling to No. 18 Kentucky Monday, Jan. 19 for a noon matchup.

#12 Duke 7, #63 Michigan State 0
Jan 16, 2015 at Durham, N.C. (Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center)

Doubles competition
1. Nicolas Alvarez/Raphael Hemmeler (DU) def. #56 John Patrick Mullane/Harry Jadun (MSU) 6-4
2. Jason Tahir/Josh Levine (DU) vs. Mac Roy/Michael Dube (MSU) 4-5, unfinished
3. Chris Mengel/Bruno Semenzato (DU) def. Gijs Linders/Brett Forman (MSU) 6-3

Singles competition
1. #36 Jason Tahir (DU) def. John Patrick Mullane (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #18 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) def. #76 Gijs Linders (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. #112 Bruno Semenzato (DU) def. Brett Forman (MSU) 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5)
4. #103 Raphael Hemmeler (DU) def. Harry Jadun (MSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. Chris Mengel (DU) def. Mac Roy (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Josh Levine (DU) def. Michael Dube (MSU) 7-5, 6-4

Match Notes:
Michigan State 0-1; National ranking #6
Duke 1-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,2,5,6,3,4)
A-432

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