Duke Falls in ACC Title Match to Top-Seeded Virginia

Sunday, April 23

Cary, N.C.

2 p.m.

Duke University

[8] Virginia

Duke Falls in ACC Title Match to Top-Seeded Virginia

4/23/2023 8:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

CARY, N.C. – No. 12 Duke men's tennis dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 8 Virginia in the ACC Championship title match on Sunday afternoon at Cary Tennis Park.

Virginia (24-4) earned its third consecutive ACC crown, while Duke (20-6) was handed just its sixth loss of the year, five of which have come against opponents ranked in the top-25.

The Cavaliers garnered the doubles point before extending their lead to 2-0 early in singles play. Rookie Pedro Rodenas tried to spark a Blue Devil rally when he cut the deficit down to 2-1 after his seventh victory over a nationally ranked opponent. With the final four singles matches in three sets, the reigning national champions were able to outlast Duke's surge to secure the needed two points to earn the title.

How It Happened

Ryan Goetz and Alexander Kiefer began doubles play by defeating juniors Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni on court three, 6-3. The Cavaliers then claimed the doubles point after Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg registered a 6-4 win on court two over sophomore Connor Krug and freshman Teddy Truwit.
The match on the top court between the senior-freshman duo of No. 21 Garrett Johns and Rodenas against William Woodall and Inaki Montes De La Torre went unfinished with the Cavaliers leading, 5-4.
Virginia extended its lead to 2-0 early in singles play after No. 43 von der Schulenburg bested Andrew Zhang on court three 6-4, 6-2.
No. 72 Rodenas cut into the Cavaliers' lead when he defeated fellow Spaniard and No. 21 Montes 6-3, 6-3 on court two.
The next match to finish was on court six, where Mans Dahlberg outlasted Jake Krug in three sets to hand the Cavaliers a 3-1 edge. Jake Krug posted a 6-4 victory in the opening set but dropped the next two 6-3, 6-3.
No. 83 Ryan Goetz then clinched the overall match for Virginia when he beat Connor Krug on court four. Goetz earned a 6-2 win in the first set, but Connor Krug battled back to record a 7-6 (3) tiebreak victory in the second. Unfortunately, Goetz rebounded for the 6-2 win in the final frame to claim the win.
Two matches went unfinished on court one and five, respectively. No. 13 Johns was knotted at one set apiece with No. 10 Rodesch on the main court, while Andrew Dale was split with Alexander Kiefer on court five. Both matches were in a third set when the match was clinched.

Notes

Duke's season-long nine-match winning streak was halted in the contest.
Rodenas extends his winning streak to 10-straight matches and is now 7-3 against nationally ranked opponents.
In addition, the rookie is undefeated on court two with a mark of 15-0.

Quotes
"First off, I want to congratulate UVA on a great match and ACC Championship. I have so much respect for Andres [Pedroso], his staff, and his players. Andres has set a really high bar at UVA and has inspired me with what he is accomplishing. He has pushed me to be a better coach. Overall, it was a hard-fought battle today as we anticipated. We started off great in doubles the first 15 minutes, but Virginia did a great job of grabbing that momentum midway through. I felt really good at court one and court three was up a break early and lost a couple deuce points. We ended up losing the doubles point, but we had been there before. We got down in singles but dug in, competed hard, and won four seconds sets to extend those matches. There was a stretch there where I felt like we really grabbed the momentum, and I saw a clear pathway to get four points to take the title. Our guys have been so gritty and so tough, but credit to Virginia for playing well and closing out those third sets" – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

"I'm running out of things to say about Pedro [Rodenas]. Inako [Montes De La Torre] is one of the hardest outs in all of college tennis. He's an experienced veteran, he's a fellow Spaniard and he's someone who's kind of mentored Pedro through the recruiting process. They're good friends and I have so much respect for him as a player and competitor. Pedro played freely and went after it. What a big-time win. This ACC tournament should put Pedro into the NCAA individual tournament, which is exciting because he deserves to be there" – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on rookie Pedro Rodenas

"Today didn't go our way, but I couldn't be more proud of all my guys. We had nine different guys participate in this tournament and contribute. Just really pleased with how we've evolved and the direction we are going. I couldn't be more excited for the NCAA tournament." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his team's overall performance

"We'll rest and recharge a little bit. I feel like we've earned the right to host the first two rounds, which was one of our goals. We just need to fine-tune some things, keep building and make sure we're ready to go for this last run." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his team's next few weeks

Next Match
Duke will now await the 2023 NCAA Tournament selections, which will be announced on Monday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMTEN".

Results
Doubles (3,2*)
1. William Woodall/Inaki Montes (VA) vs. #21 Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) 5-4, unfinished
2. Chris Rodesch/J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Connor Krug/Teddy Truwit (DU) 6-4
3. Ryan Goetz/Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) 6-3

Singles (3,2,6,4*)
1. #10 Chris Rodesch (VA) vs. #13 Garrett Johns (DU) 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 3-2, unfinished
2. #72 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #21 Inaki Montes (VA) 6-3, 6-3
3. #43 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Andrew Zhang (DU) 6-4, 6-2
4. #83 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Connor Krug (DU) 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2
5. Alexander Kiefer (VA) vs. Andrew Dale (DU) 6-4, 3-6, 5-2, unfinished
6. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Jake Krug (DU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

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