Duke Kicks off Season with Two Wins

Sunday, January 23

Durham, N.C.

11 a.m.

Duke University

Elon

Senior Edu Güell went 2-0 in singles action, while the sophomore doubles duo of Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni finished the day 2-0.

Duke Kicks off Season with Two Wins

1/23/2022 11:05:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

DURHAM – Duke men's tennis recorded wins over Elon and North Carolina Central on Sunday afternoon to kick off the 2022 spring season.

The Blue Devils registered victories in 11 of the day's 12 singles matches and four of the six doubles matches to finish the weekend 2-0. Duke defeated Elon 7-0 inside Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center before earning a 6-1 victory over North Carolina Central in the nightcap.

Senior Edu Güell went 2-0 in singles action, while the sophomore doubles duo of Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni finished the day 2-0.

Duke is back in action next weekend when it travels to Columbia, S.C., for the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Blue Devils will face off against Liberty on Friday at 2 p.m. before meeting up with either South Carolina or LSU on Sunday. Timing for Sunday's match has yet to be determined.

Match One vs. Elon
In Duke's spring season opener, the Blue Devils claimed two-of-three doubles matches to earn a 1-0 advantage heading into singles play. A highlight from those opening two matches were Khan and Vallabhaneni rallying back from 4-0 and 5-1 down to record a 7-6 (4) victory on court two. Garrett Johns and Andrew Zhang secured Duke's second doubles win following a thrilling 7-6 (3) win.

Güell increased Duke's overall advantage to 2-0 after registering a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ben Zipay on court six to begin singles action.

Andrew Dale was the next Blue Devil finisher, claiming a 6-1, 6-2 win over Chung-Han Tsai on court five.

Freshman Connor Krug then secured the match for Duke when he tallied a 7-5, 7-5 victory on court four over Daniel Martin.

No. 39 Khan, Zhang and No. 76 Johns all added to Duke's final score with 7-5, 6-2; 6-3, 7-6 (1) and 6-4, 7-6 (7) victories, respectively.

RESULTS
Singles (6,5,4*,3,2,1))
1. #76 Garrett Johns (DU) def. Kyle Frankel (ELON) 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)
2. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Nicholas Campbell (ELON) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
3. #38 Faris Khan (DU) def. Nicholas Condos (ELON) 7-5, 6-2
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. Daniel Martin (ELON) 7-5, 7-5
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Chung-Han Tsai (ELON) 6-1, 6-2
6. Edu Güell (DU) def. Ben Zipay (ELON) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles (3,1,2*)
1. Garrett Johns/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Daniel Martin/Chung-Han Tsai (ELON) 7-6 (7-3)
2. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) def. Kyle Frankel/Camilo Ponce (ELON) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Nicholas Campbell/Nicholas Condos (ELON) def. Connor Krug/Jake Krug (DU) 7-6 (7-4)

Match Two vs. N.C. Central
The Blue Devils claimed the doubles point over North Carolina Central to kick things off after wins by Khan and Vallabhaneni on court two and Jake Krug and Arturo Kam on court three. Khan and Vallabhaneni were the first to finish, earning a 6-2 victory. The Krug-Kam tandem then added a 6-2 win to secure the doubles point. Zhang and Connor Krug's match on court one went unfinished with the Blue Devils leading 4-3.

Doug Macintosh, who recently joined the Blue Devil roster, earned Duke's first singles points after securing a 6-1, 6-0 victory over LaQuon Gilchrist on court six.

Graduate student Arturo Kam then handed Duke a 3-0 edge following his 6-0, 6-0 win over Shaka Cristellotti on court five.

Güell was next to finish and claimed the overall match for Duke after defeating Sebastian Pino 6-1, 6-0 on court three.

Jake Krug and Vallabhaneni chipped in with victories for the Blue Devils on court four and two following 6-1, 6-4 and 6-2, 6-2 wins, respectively.

The Eagles notched their lone victory on court one after Miles Clark bested Connor Krug. In set one, Clark earned a 6-3 win before Krug responded with a 6-3 victory of his own in the second. In the final frame, Clark slightly edged Krug 10-8 in a thrilling third set.

RESULTS
Singles (6,5,3*,4,2,1))
1. Miles Clark (NCCU) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-3, 3-6, 10-8
2. Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) def. Amit Baran (NCCU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Edu Güell (DU) def. Sebastian Pino (NCCU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Jake Krug (DU) def. Oliver Saarinen (NCCU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Arturo Kam (DU) def. Shaka Cristellotti (NCCU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Doug Macintosh (DU) def. LaQuon Gilchrist (NCCU) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles (2,3)
1. Andrew Zhang/Connor Krug (DU) vs. Amit Baran/Miles Clark (NCCU) 4-3, unfinished
2. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni(DU) def. Sebastian Pino/Oliver Saarinen (NCCU) 6-2
3. Jake Krug/Arturo Kam (DU) def. Shaka Cristellotti/LaQuon Gilchrist (NCCU) 6-2

#GoDuke