Duke Wins Third Straight, Downs N.C. State 5-2

Friday, April 1

Raleigh, N.C.

4:30 PM

Duke University

NC State

Duke Wins Third Straight, Downs N.C. State 5-2

4/1/2016 8:52:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 75 Duke men's tennis team continued its dominance of N.C. State with a 5-2 victory Friday at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. The Blue Devils improved to 102-2 in program history versus the Wolfpack (15-11, 3-5 ACC) with the doubles point and the first four singles decisions.

Junior TJ Pura secured the match for Duke (11-10, 4-4 ACC) with a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory against Igor Saveljic on court four. It was the second contest-deciding victory this season for Pura, who also secured the match against Furman.

“I'm really happy for the guys,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “This is probably our most complete match of the year. I am very proud of the heart, toughness and team spirit I saw on every court today. It was a great team effort. I think this team is ready to make a push and finish the regular season strong.”

In doubles, Duke secured the point for the third consecutive match with victories on courts one and two. Opening the win was court one, where freshmen Catalin Mateas and Vincent Lin defeated Simon Norenius and Thomas Weigel, 6-4. The Duke pair held 2-1 and 3-2 leads before the Wolfpack won consecutive games to take a 4-3 advantage. Mateas and Lin flipped the script with three straight wins to end the match. The Duke duo won its second straight match and improve to 8-4 overall and 2-2 in league play.

The Blue Devils took the point on court two with a 7-5 victory by senior Daniel McCall and freshman Jason Lapidus against Nick Horton and Shoti Meparidze. The two teams were even at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 before a late break and hold gave Duke the victory. McCall and Lapidus earned their fourth consecutive triumph and lifted their overall marks to 8-5 and 3-4 in ACC matches.

On court three, the match between Pura and sophomore Nicolas Alvarez and Igor and Ivan Saveljic was halted with the Blue Devil pair holding a 5-4 advantage.

In singles, Duke began the path to its 5-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-2 victory by Mateas against No. 85 Weigel on court two. In the opening set, Mateas broke a 2-2 tie with consecutive wins to go up 4-2. He held a 5-3 advantage and closed out for the set. In the second, Mateas snapped a 1-1 draw with two straight wins to go up 3-1. Weigel closed to a 3-2 deficit, but Mateas took the final three games. Mateas upped his overall record to 14-7 and evened his ACC mark at 4-4. It was also Mateas' team second-most third win of the year versus a ranked foe.

The Blue Devils made it a 3-0 cushion as No. 19 Alvarez defeated No. 44 Norenius 6-1, 6-3 on court one. Alvarez jumped ahead 4-0 in the opening set and rolled before taking 3-1 and 5-2 advantages in the second set. Alvarez is now 14-13 overall and 3-4 in league play while going 8-11 against ranked opponents.

The clincher came from Pura, who bounced back from a 5-3 hole in the first set to secure the win against Igor Saveljic on court four. Pura led 2-1 and 3-2 in the opening set before dropping three straight to fall behind 5-3. He evened the set at 5-5 and 6-6 before winning the tiebreaker. In the second set, Pura jumped ahead 5-1 and held Saveljic off for the victory. Pura evened his overall record at 12-12 and upped his ACC mark to 5-3.

Duke added its final point on court five, where senior Josh Levine came back to defeat Ivan Saveljic 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (8). Levine held a one game lead during the majority of the opening set before Saveljic won consecutive games to go ahead 5-4. Levine evened the set at 5-5, but dropped the next two games. In the second set, the two were even throughout and tied at 4-4 before Levine went on the late two game streak for the win. With the overall match already determined, the two played a first-to-10 tiebreaker for a third set, which Levine took 10-8. Levine improves to 14-11 overall and 4-2 in league action.

N.C. State added its first point on court three, where No. 77 Horton defeated Lin 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3). The two were not separated by more than a game in the opening set with Horton coming away with the tiebreaker. In the second set, Lin turned a 3-3 tie into a 5-3 advantage, but Horton came back with three straight wins. Lin forced the tiebreaker, but Horton won his second of the evening. Lin's three-match winning streak was halted as he dips to 20-14 and 5-3 in ACC play.

The Wolfpack tallied its final point with a 7-5, 7-6 (5) win on court six by Meparidze against McCall. McCall staged a comeback in the opening set, falling behind 5-2 and evening the set at 5-5. From there, however, Meparidze bounced back with consecutive wins to take the set. The second set had the two even throughout with neither holding more than a game advantage. Meparidze took the tiebreaker for the match as McCall falls to 8-10 and 2-2 against league opponents.

The Blue Devils finish the weekend with a 3 p.m. Sunday home match against No. 3 Virginia. Pizza and Duke souveiner cups will be given away while supplies last.

Duke 5, N.C. State 2
April 1, 2016 at Raleigh, N.C. (J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center)

Doubles competition
1. Catalin Mateas/Vincent Lin (DU) def. Simon Norenius/Thomas Weigel (ST) 6-4
2. Jason Lapidus/Daniel McCall (DU) def. Nick Horton/Shoti Meparidze (ST) 7-5
3. Igor Saveljic/Ivan Saveljic (ST) vs. TJ Pura/Nicolas Alvarez (DU) 4-5, unfinished

Singles competition
1. #19 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) def. #44 Simon Norenius (ST) 6-1, 6-3
2. Catalin Mateas (DU) def. #85 Thomas Weigel (ST) 6-3, 6-2
3. #77 Nick Horton (ST) def. Vincent Lin (DU) 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3)
4. TJ Pura (DU) def. Igor Saveljic (ST) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
5. Josh Levine (DU) def. Ivan Saveljic (ST) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)
6. Shoti Meparidze (ST) def. Daniel McCall (DU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)

Match Notes:
Duke 11-10, 4-4 ACC; National ranking #75
N.C. State 15-11, 3-5 ACC; National ranking #42
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,1,4,5,3,6)

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