Alvarez ACC Player of the Week Again

GREENSBORO, N.C. – After going 2-0 in singles and doubles at the ITA Team Indoor Championship, Duke men's tennis freshman Nicolas Alvarez was named the ACC Player of the Week. It is the second league weekly honor of Alvarez's career and third for the Blue Devils' this spring as junior Josh Levine was selected on Feb. 3.

Alvarez is the first Duke player to receive multiple ACC Player of the Week honors in the same campaign since Henrique Cunha collected three in 2013. The Blue Devils' three weekly league selections are already the most in a year since having four in 2013.

Alvarez played a key role in Duke going 2-1 at the ITA's main indoor event by winning two singles matches against top-20 opponents and earning two doubles victories versus top-60 foes. The Blue Devils' played a trio of top-20 teams while in Chicago and downed No. 18 TCU and No. 15 Ole Miss while falling to No. 5 Baylor.

Against the Bears on Friday, Alvarez, ranked No. 9 in the most recent ITA poll, claimed Duke's only point with a 6-4, 6-2 victory versus No. 10 Julian Lenz. The win was Alvarez's team-leading 24th of the campaign and tied the match at 1-1.

Saturday versus TCU, Alvarez earned a three-set comeback victory against No. 18 Cameron Norrie on court one that clinched the match for Duke. Norrie earned a 6-4 victory in the first set. It was just the seventh opening set Alvarez has dropped in his career, and the first since a 6-7 (2) setback to Jerry Lopez of Kentucky on Jan. 19. Trailing 4-5 in the second set, Alvarez stormed back with three straight wins to push the match to its third set. There, Alvarez gained a break to take a 4-2 lead and extended it to 5-2 before Norrie won to make it 5-3. Alvarez served out for the win and a backhand clinched the overall match for Duke.

Alvarez improved to 25-4 this year and is 10-4 versus ranked opponents. He is five wins away from entering the Duke top-10 chart for wins by a freshman and only nine off the Blue Devils' overall single-season singles victories ledger.

To finish the weekend Sunday against Ole Miss, Alvarez's match against No. 59 Nicholas Scholtz went unfinished. Alvarez was ahead 6-4, 3-4 when action was halted.

In doubles, Alvarez and senior Raphael Hemmeler, ranked No. 34, earned a pair of 6-4 wins that both secured the doubles points for Duke. Saturday, the Blue Devil duo earned a 6-4 upset against TCU's No. 24 team of Will Stein and Nick Chappell. Sunday, Alvarez and Hemmeler took down No. 55 Gustav Hansson and William Kallberg of Ole Miss to give Duke the doubles point en route to its 4-0 victory.

Alvarez and Hemmeler were ahead 4-2 against No. 40 Tony Lupieri and Mate Zsiga of Baylor on Friday when the match was halted as the Bears won the doubles point.

Duke has this weekend off before returning to action Saturday, Feb. 28, with a doubleheader against Coastal Carolina and UNC Charlotte. First serve versus the Chanticleers is slated for 10 a.m. ET with the match against the 49ers set for approximately 2:30 p.m. Weather permitting, the two matches will also be the first of the outdoor season for the Blue Devils.

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