Duke Holds Off NC State for 4-3 Victory

Friday, March 20

Durham, N.C.

3:00 PM

Duke University

NC State

Duke Holds Off NC State for 4-3 Victory

3/20/2015 7:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 6 Duke men's tennis team held off a stiff challenge from No. 37 NC State to record a 4-3 victory Friday inside Ambler Tennis Stadium. Junior Josh Levine helped the Blue Devils to the triumph with wins in singles and doubles on the afternoon.

The win for Duke lifted its ACC record to 2-1 and its overall mark to 15-2, tied with the 1977, 1988 and 2005 teams for the best 17-match records in program history. The Blue Devils also improved to 14-1 in their last 15 home matches and to 11-2 against ranked foes this season. Duke has played 13 of its 17 matches against ranked opponents in 2015.

The Blue Devils' triumph was the 10th at home this year, one shy of entering the program's top-10 home wins chart. The victory against the Wolfpack raised Duke's overall series record to 101-2 against NC State.

"That was a big team win for us," head coach Ramsey Smith said. "I'm really happy with it. NC State is a really tough team. They've lost five 4-3 matches to very good teams."

Duke struck first by capturing the doubles point for the 14th time in 17 matches. The Blue Devils took the first match with junior Bruno Semenzato and redshirt senior Chris Mengel topping Simon Norenius and Nick Horton, 8-5, on court three. The teams exchanged breaks and were tied at 5-5 before Mengel and Semenzato broke again to take a 6-5 lead and then captured the final two games. Mengel and Semenzato improved to 12-2 in doubles with a 7-2 mark on court three.

NC State responded to even the doubles action as No. 17 Ian Dempster and Robbie Mudge downed senior Raphael Hemmeler and freshman Nicolas Alvarez, 8-6, on court one. The Duke duo, ranked 11th, took a 4-2 lead before NC State answered with three straight wins to go ahead 5-4. The teams stayed on serve until the final game, when the Wolfpack broke to end the match. The setback was just Alvarez and Hemmeler's fifth of the year as they fell to 15-5 overall and 7-4 in dual matches.

The doubles point came down to court two, which went into the tiebreaker with Duke winning 8-7 (5). With Austin Powell and Beck Bond even at 7-7 against senior Jason Tahir and Levine, the squads headed to the tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was even at 5-5 when Levine hit a winner and then Powell hit a return long to give Duke the point. Earlier in the set, the pairs were tied at 3-3 before the Wolfpack won three consecutive matches to edge ahead 6-3, only to have Duke win three straight to tie it at 6-6.

"It was a good match," Levine said. "We were right in their service games and had a break point in almost every service game. It was good for us to get the momentum back in that match. That set the tone for singles. It was a big match for Tahir and me, also. We had been struggling a little bit in doubles. Clinching the match for the team was big for us."

"Jason and Josh competed really well," Smith said. "They were down a break early and trailed 6-3 in the match. They hung in there, pushed it to a tiebreaker and then played a great tiebreaker."

In singles, Levine quickly gave Duke a 2-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Dempster on court six. With the first set tied 3-3, Levine rattled off three straight games for the win. Levine took a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Dempster bounced back to cut the deficit to 4-3. Levine answered with a hold serving and then a break in the final game. The victory snapped a brief two-match losing streak for Levine and lifted his overall record to 15-9 and 9-5 in dual matches. He's 6-1 playing on court six this spring.

"It's very important for a guy on our team to get singles off to a good start," Levine said. "It sets momentum for the other five singles and puts another point up on the board. Everybody is more aggressive and pumped up."

The Wolfpack made it a 2-1 deficit with a Mudge 6-4, 6-4 victory against No. 34 Tahir on court one. Mudge jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the opening set, but Tahir fought back to even it at 3-3 and 4-4. Mudge took a 5-4 lead and broke Tahir in the final game to take the first set. In the second set, Tahir took a 4-3 lead with a break, but Mudge broke right back and evened the set at 4-4. Mudge held his service game and broke Tahir again in the final game to capture the set and match.

Duke regained its two-point lead at 3-1 with a court five win from Pura, who downed Horton 6-3, 7-6 (3). With the opening set tied 3-3, Pura got a break to go ahead 4-3, won his service game and broke Horton again to win the set. Pura seemed to have complete control in the second set with a break to take a 4-2 and then 5-2 lead, but Horton tied the set at 5-5 and they remained tied at 6-6. With the tiebreaker even at 2-2, Pura took a 4-2 lead and extended it to 6-3 before winning 7-3. Pura lifted his overall record to 12-7 and 7-2 in dual action.

"We stepped up big time on courts five and six," Smith added. "We had struggled a little bit there the last couple matches and hadn't been as solid there as we were earlier. I thought Josh and TJ came up with huge matches for us."

The Blue Devils clinched the match and went up 4-1 with a court two win from Hemmeler, who downed No. 72 Powell 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Hemmeler cruised through the first set and went ahead 4-1 in the second before Powell stormed back to take five straight games and win the set. With the decisive third set even at 3-3, Hemmeler broke to go ahead 4-3, held for his serve and broke again for the victory. The win was the 107th of Hemmeler's career, tied with Chris Pressley (1992-95) for seventh in Duke history. Hemmeler improved to 26-7 this year, including a 12-3 record in dual matches. His 26 wins tied his 2011-12 total for the second most in a year in his career. His high is 35 victories in 2012-13.

NC State made it a 4-2 deficit with a comeback win by Bond against Mengel on court four. Bond earned a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 1-0 (5) victory. After dropping the first set, Bond faced a 5-3 deficit in the second before forcing a tiebreaker. Bond captured the tiebreaker to even the match. With the overall match already determined, the third set was played to a best-to-10 tiebreaker, which Beck won 10-5.

The Wolfpack also took the final point of the match with a Norenius 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory against Semenzato on court three. The two exchanged breaks throughout the first set with Norenius gaining a 5-2 advantage before holding on for the win. With the second set tied 5-5, Semenzato took a 6-5 lead with a break and served for the set, but was broken to force the tiebreaker. There, Norenius took a 5-2 lead and again held on for the win.

Duke wraps up its weekend action at 3 p.m. ET Sunday versus No. 12 Wake Forest.

#6 Duke 4, #37 NC State 3
March 20, 2015 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)

Singles competition
1. Robbie Mudge (NCSU) def. #34 Jason Tahir (DU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Raphael Hemmeler (DU) def. #72 Austin Powell (NCSU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
3. Simon Norenius (NCSU) def. Bruno Semenzato (DU) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
4. Beck Bond (NCSU) def. Chris Mengel (DU) 3-6, 7-6 (3), 1-0 (5)
5. TJ Pura (DU) def. Nick Horton (NCSU) 6-3, 7-6 (3)
6. Josh Levine (DU) def. Ian Dempster (NCSU) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. #17 Robbie Mudge/Ian Dempster (NCSU) def. #11 Nicolas Alvarez/Raphael Hemmeler (DU) 8-6
2. Jason Tahir/Josh Levine (DU) def. Austin Powell/Beck Bond (NCSU) 8-7 (5)
3. Chris Mengel/Bruno Semenzato (DU) def. Simon Norenius/Nick Horton (NCSU) 8-5

Match Notes
NC State 10-7, 0-4 ACC; National ranking #37
Duke 15-2, 2-1 ACC; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,1,5,2,4,3)
T-2:54 A-134

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