No. 6 Duke Sweeps No. 33 Florida State on Senior Day

Sunday, April 12

Durham, N.C.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Florida State

Men?s Tennis Shares Favorite Team Moments

No. 6 Duke Sweeps No. 33 Florida State on Senior Day

4/12/2015 4:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – On senior day, Duke's four players exhausting their eligibility this spring, senior Raphael Hemmeler, redshirt senior Chris Mengel, junior Bruno Semenzato and senior Jason Tahir, propelled the Blue Devils to a 7-0 sweep against Florida State on Sunday afternoon inside Ambler Tennis Stadium. Sixth-ranked Duke (20-4, 7-3 ACC) completes the regular season undefeated at home at 14-0.

“It's our comfort zone on these courts,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “Our fans and supporters help us a lot. It seems like we play our best tennis here. To go undefeated at home with the schedule we've had, the nonconference and conference, is a tribute to how hard these guys have worked. It's pretty special.”

The Blue Devils' 20-4 overall record is tied for the third-best start in program history, just one victory behind the 2001 and 1982 squads' 21-3 marks. Duke's 20 wins make it six consecutive campaigns reaching the 20-win plateau, the second longest streak in program history, behind only 10 such campaigns from 1992-2001.

The victory against No. 33 Florida State (18-6, 6-4 ACC) also pushed Duke's total to 15 wins against ranked opponents this year, tied for the 10th most in a year in program history.

“This was a great day,” Smith added. “It was fitting to see the seniors go out with a 7-0 win against a great team like Florida State. It's a neat day. These four have put so much into the program. You could just sense it was a special day. We got all four of their best today, which is great.”

In doubles on Sunday, the Blue Devils took the point with wins on courts two and three. Duke won the first match on three with sophomore TJ Pura and Semenzato topping Terrance Whitehurst and Terrell Whitehurst, 8-2. With the match tied 2-2, Pura and Semenzato broke and began a six-game winning streak to end the match. Pura and Semenzato are now 4-3 overall and 3-2 in league matches.

Duke finished the point with a victory on court two, where junior Josh Levine and Tahir defeated Michael Rinaldi and Cristian Gonzalez Mendez, 8-6. The two teams remained on serve until a 4-4 tie was snapped by a Duke break. Florida State answered with its own break to even the match again at 5-5. It was tied at 6-6 before the Blue Devils broke again to go ahead 7-6. From there, Tahir served out for the victory. Tahir and Levine have won their last seven decisions and are 15-4 overall and 5-0 in the ACC. The league doubles win for Tahir was the 24th of his career, tied for the ninth most in program history.

On court one, Hemmeler and freshman Nicolas Alvarez were down 7-6 to Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez when the match was halted.

“It all starts with the doubles,” Smith said. “I thought that was the cleanest we've looked at all three spots at the same time for a while. I think that really set the tone.”

In singles, Duke took a 2-0 lead as Mengel downed Jose Gracia, 7-5, 6-2 on court five. Mengel fell behind 2-0 in the first set and then won two games to even it at 2-2. It was tied at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 before Mengel broke and then held on his serve to close the set. Mengel took control early in the second set, going ahead 3-1 and 4-2. He then broke Gracia to take a 5-2 lead and served out for the victory. Mengel improved to 15-6 overall and 3-1 in ACC action. He's 9-1 playing on court five this spring. Mengel's win was also the 28th of his ACC singles career, tied for the seventh most in program history.

“We got deep into the first sets and made our push,” Smith added. “I think we handled tough situations really well. It gave us a lot of momentum to eventually pick up five first sets.”

The Blue Devils pushed the lead to 3-0 with an Alvarez 7-5, 6-3 victory against Lock on court one. The two were tied 5-5 in the first set before No. 11 Alvarez won his service game and then broke Lock to end the set. In the second set, Alvarez jumped out to 3-0 and 4-1 leads before closing out the set. Alvarez is now 29-9 overall and 4-4 in league matches. His 29 wins are one shy of entering the Duke top-10 chart for victories as a freshman.

Duke got the clinching point on senior day from Tahir on court two, who topped Rinaldi, 6-4, 6-3. The two were tied 4-4 in the opening set before No. 42 Tahir broke No. 91 Rinaldi and held his serve to win. The second set was tied 2-2 before Tahir broke and opened up a 4-2 lead. Rinaldi got one game back, but Tahir held on his serve and broke Rinaldi to end the match. Tahir improved to 22-16 overall and 5-5 in league matches. Tahir picked up his sixth win of the year against a ranked opponent, 30th career ACC triumph, the fifth most in program history, and 102nd career singles victory, tied for the 13th most by a Blue Devil.

“Jason clinched the doubles and ended up clinching the singles,” Smith said. “I think that was extra special for him. Jason came up against a really tough opponent who has been playing really well in singles and got a really hard-fought, two-set win. I'm happy for him and all the seniors.”

“I kind of realized when [Alvarez] served it out that I could clinch both singles and doubles,” Tahir said. “The main thing was that the team did a really good job today. Everybody played a huge role in the match.”

On court six, the Blue Devils made it a 5-0 advantage after Pura defeated Terrell Whitehurst, 6-3, 6-4. Pura fell behind 2-0 in the opening set before taking five straight games to take control at 5-2 and then close the set. The second set was tied 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4 before Pura took a 5-4 lead holding on his serve and broke Whitehurst to end the match. Pura moved to 17-9 overall and 7-3 in the ACC.

Duke earned its sixth point on court four with a Semenzato 7-5, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (1) victory against Gonzalez Mendez. The two were even at 5-5 in the first set before Semenzato took the last two games with a service hold and break. Gonzalez Mendez took a 4-1 lead in the second set before Semenzato came back and evened the set at 5-5. The two went into the tiebreaker after both held on their serves and Gonzalez Mendez got out to 3-0 and 4-2 leads before closing it out. With the overall match already determined, the two played a first-to-10 tiebreaker for a third set. Semenzato took a commanding 5-0 lead before allowing his only point to Gonzalez Mendez. Semenzato improved to 26-11 overall and 6-4 in league matches with the victory.

The Blue Devils finished the sweep on court three with No. 58 Hemmeler earning his ninth straight victory, downing Nunez, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. Hemmeler lost the opening set after the two were even at 5-5 and Hemmeler was broken to go down 6-5. Hemmeler answered in the second set, turning a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 victory. In the final set, Hemmeler again flipped the switch with the set even at 2-2, holding on his serve and breaking Nunez to go up 5-2. Nunez cut it to 5-3 but Hemmeler did not allow a point in the final game to earn the win. Hemmeler is 33-7 this season, one win short of the program's single-season top-10 record chart. The victory was Hemmeler's ninth in ACC play, tied for sixth on the Duke single-season ledger, and 32nd league triumph of his career, the third most by a Blue Devil.

Duke plays its final regular-season matches of the year next weekend, heading to No. 28 Louisville and Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils play in Louisville at 3 p.m. ET Friday and in Atlanta at 12 p.m. Sunday.

#6 Duke 7 #33 Florida State 0
April 12, 2015 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)

Singles competition
1. #11 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) def. Benjamin Lock (FSU) 7-5, 6-3
2. #42 Jason Tahir (DU) def. #91 Michael Rinaldi (FSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. #58 Raphael Hemmeler (DU) def. Marco Nunez (FSU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
4. Bruno Semenzato (DU) def. Cristian Gonzalez Mendez (FSU) 7-5, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (1)
5. Chris Mengel (DU) def. Jose Gracia (FSU) 7-5, 6-2
6. TJ Pura (DU) def. Terrell Whitehurst (FSU) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. #17 Benjamin Lock/Marco Nunez (FSU) led #14 Nicolas Alvarez/Raphael Hemmeler (DU) 7-6
2. Jason Tahir/Josh Levine (DU) def. Michael Rinaldi/Cristian Gonzalez Mendez (FSU) 8-6
3. Bruno Semenato/TJ Pura (DU) def. Terrance Whitehurst/Terrell Whitehurst (FSU) 8-2

Match Notes
Duke 20-4, 7-3 ACC; National ranking #6
Florida State 18-7, 6-4 ACC; National ranking #33
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,1,2,6,4,3)
T-3:26 A-291

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