Duke Comes Back, Downs Miami 5-2

Friday, March 11

Miami, Fla.

2:30 PM

Duke University

Miami

Duke Comes Back, Downs Miami 5-2

3/11/2016 6:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

MIAMI, Fla. – The road proved to be a winning path for the No. 66 Duke men's tennis team as the Blue Devils topped No. 74 Miami 5-2 on Friday at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. With the victory, Duke evened its overall record at 7-7 and its ACC mark at 1-1.

For the second straight match, the Blue Devils dropped the doubles point before capturing five opening sets in singles. This time, Duke finished the comeback with five singles triumphs to take the match with the clincher coming from sophomore Nicolas Alvarez on court one.

"Nico played one of his best matches of the year," head coach Ramsey Smith said. "It was a huge win for him, and the clincher for our team."

With the victory, Smith ties Steve Strome (1983-90) for the third most wins by a head coach in program history with 159. Smith trails only Jay Lapidus (1999-2008/371) and John LeBar (1971-82/183) on the all-time Duke victory chart.

On Friday, Miami (6-6, 1-1 ACC) took an early lead with a doubles-point clinching victory on court one. The Hurricanes recorded the first doubles triumph on court two, where Piotr Lomacki and Nile Clark downed freshman Jason Lapidus and senior Daniel McCall, 6-3. The two teams were even at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3 before Miami captured the last three games for the set. Lapidus and McCall fall to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in ACC contests.

On court three, Duke evened the action with a 6-4 win from freshman Ryan Dickerson and senior Josh Levine against Kevin Bondar and Fermin Calvo. The Duke duo took an early 2-1 lead and extended the advantage to 4-1. The Hurricanes got two back to make it a 4-3 Duke lead, but the Blue Devils rebounded with a win to go up 5-3 and held on for the victory. Dickerson and Levine are now 4-4 overall and 3-2 in dual matches.

"TJ and Ryan getting off quick really set the tone," Smith added. "Both those matches were very straight forward and turned the momentum in our favor."

The doubles point came down to court one, where Miami's Max Andrews and Bernard Tefel held off Alvarez and freshman Vincent Lin, 6-4. The Hurricanes earned a break in the third game to go up 2-1 and held to take a 3-1 lead. Duke got it within a game at 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4, but Miami finished off the set. Alvarez and Lin dip to 4-5 overall, all in dual matches.

For the second time in as many ACC matches, the Blue Devils mounted a rally in singles, capturing five first sets and the first four singles decisions to secure the match.

Duke began the rally with junior TJ Pura steamrolling Clark 6-1, 6-0 on court four. Pura captured the first two games of the match, lost one and then took the final 10. Pura extended his winning streak to three and evened his overall record to 9-9 while moving to 3-6 in dual matches and 2-0 in ACC action. In his career, Pura is now 4-0 in singles against the Hurricanes.

The Blue Devils took the lead with a Dickerson 6-2, 6-0 win on court five against Niclas Genovese. After a 1-1 tie, Dickerson took a 3-1 lead. Genovese got a game back to make it a 3-2 deficit, but Dickerson rattled off nine straight wins to end the match. Dickerson won his first career ACC match and improved to 9-7 overall and 7-2 in dual matches.

The third point for the Blue Devils came with a 6-4, 6-4 win by Lin against Calvo on court three. In the first set, the two were tied at 1-1 and 2-2 before Lin inched ahead 3-2 and made it a 4-2 advantage. Calvo had a one-game deficit at 4-3 and 5-4, but Lin closed out for the victory. In a tight second set, Lin took control late, trailing 3-2 before winning back-to-back games for a 4-3 lead and closing out for the triumph. Lin owns a team-high six match win streak and is now 17-11, 9-5 in dual matches and 2-0 against league foes.

Duke clinched the match on court one with Alvarez, who picked up his team-leading fourth contest-deciding point of the season. No. 20 Alvarez defeated No. 28 Lomacki 6-4, 6-4. The two sets were very similar, with Alvarez breaking Lomacki to turn momentum in his favor in both sets. The first had the set tied 3-3 before Alvarez broke and held to go up 5-3. Lomacki got one back for a 5-4 deficit, but Alvarez served out for the victory. In the second set, the two exchanged breaks throughout and were even at 4-4 before Alvarez got the final break and hold to take the match. Alvarez moves to 11-10 overall and 1-1 in league play. The triumph was his seventh of the year against a ranked foe, the most among the Blue Devils this year.

Miami picked up a singles point on court two, where Andrews defeated freshman Catalin Mateas, 6-3, 7-6. Andrews turned a 1-1 tie in the opening set into a 3-1 lead and did not look back as Mateas got no closer than 3-2 and 4-3. In the second set, Mateas fell behind 2-0 before rallying to even the set at 3-3 and go ahead 4-3. Andrews answered with consecutive wins to lead 5-4. Mateas again responded, tying the set at 5-5 and pushing it into a tiebreaker. From there, Andrews pulled away for the win. Mateas falls to 9-5 overall and 0-2 in ACC matches.

The teams finished the match on court six, where McCall and Bondar played to a three-set decision with McCall coming away a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 winner. In the first set, McCall jumped ahead 4-0 and 5-1 before closing out for the win. McCall took a similar lead in the second set, going up 3-0 before Bondar won five straight games to lead 5-3. McCall bounced back to tie the set at 5-5, but Bondar won the final two games to force a deciding third set. In the third set, McCall trailed 2-1 before winning five straight games to take the match. McCall pushed his winning streak to five matches and is now 2-0 in league action, 8-8 overall and 5-1 in dual matches.

Duke completes the weekend with a 12 noon Sunday match at No. 51 Florida State.

#66 Duke 5, #74 Miami 2
March 11, 2016 at Miami, Fla. (Neil Schiff Tennis Center)

Doubles competition
1. Max Andrews/Bernard Tefel (UM) def. Nicolas Alvarez/Vincent Lin (DU) 6-4
2. Piotr Lomacki/Nile Clark (UM) def. Jason Lapidus/Daniel McCall (DU) 6-3
3. Ryan Dickerson/Josh Levine (DU) def. Kevin Bondar/Fermin Calvo (UM) 6-4

Singles competition
1. #20 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) def. #28 Piotr Lomacki (UM) 6-4, 6-4
2. Max Andrews (UM) def. Catalin Mateas (DU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Vincent Lin (DU) def. Fermin Calvo (UM) 6-4, 6-4
4. TJ Pura (DU) def. Nile Clark (UM) 6-1, 6-0
5. Ryan Dickerson (DU) def. Niclas Genovese (UM) 6-2, 6-0
6. Daniel McCall (DU) def. Kevin Bondar (UM) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2

Match Notes:
Duke 7-7, 1-1 ACC; National ranking #66
Miami 6-6, 1-1 ACC; National ranking #74
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,5,3,1,2,6)
T-2:45

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