Duke Defeats Virginia Tech, 5-2, for 11th Win

Friday, March 8

Durham, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Duke Defeats Virginia Tech, 5-2, for 11th Win

3/8/2024 10:56:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

DURHAM – Redshirt senior Garrett Johns clinched Friday's 5-2 win for No. 15 Duke men's tennis over No. 65 Virginia Tech at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

Johns' straight set victory over No. 60 Ryan Fishback was his fourth match-clinching win of the year. The Atlanta, Ga., native now holds a 10-3 record during the dual season, including a 5-2 mark against ranked opponents.

Duke improves to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in ACC play, while Virginia Tech drops to 7-4 and 0-3, respectively.

How It Happened

The Blue Devils started doubles play strong with victories on court three and one, respectively, to register the point. Faris Khan and Teddy Truwit teamed up to best Michael Shepheard and Alex Ix on court three, 6-2, before Johns and Pedro Rodenas defeated No. 80 Fishback and Maxime St. Hilaire on the top court, 6-4. The match between No. 21 Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang against Matt Harper and Alberto Orso on court two went unfinished with the match knotted at 5-5.
Connor Krug quickly extended the Blue Devils' edge to 2-0 early in singles play when he posted 6-4, 6-2 victories over Ix on court four.
Zhang followed suit, recording 6-4, 6-0 wins over Hugo Maia on court three for his eighth dual win of the season.
No. 47 Johns then clinched the match for the home side when he bested No. 60 Fishback 6-4, 6-4 on court one.
Duke earned one final win on court two after No. 66 Rodenas notched a three-set come-from-behind victory over St. Hilaire. The Madrid, Spain, native dropped his opening set 6-4 but rebounded for 7-5, 1-0 (10-7) wins to claim his eighth victory of the year.
The Hokies earned victories in the last two matches on court six and five, respectively, in super tiebreak fashion.

Notes

The Blue Devils are now 51-8 when playing in Durham over the last five seasons.
Johns earned his fourth match-clinching win of the season and the 14th of his career.
Johns improves to 8-2 on the top court.
Khan and Truwit earned their second doubles victory of the season.
Johns and Rodenas registered their ninth doubles win and improved to 7-3 over their last 10 matches.

Quotes
"It was a great team win. We did a lot of things much better. We had a very hard and good week of practice. We worked a lot on some mental things and some individual areas of improvement. We just played a lot freer starting the doubles and aggressive. We got off to amazing starts on courts one and three. Three was able to finish quickly and then one got close before then finishing it off. Overall, we were way more aggressive and had a lot more energy. We then carried that momentum into singles. We got pushed in some areas, and had some tight matches, but overall, it was a good level and a great bounce back win." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on his thoughts from the match

"Connor [Krug] had a great night. Just stepped in there for singles and got going right off the bat. Got up in an early break in the second and just a very consistent match from start to finish. [Andrew] Zhang just does his thing. His first two games felt like they were about 15 minutes. He's so much fun to watch, and so frustrating to play against. But those two guys getting off quickly put us in position where we just needed one more to clinch the win." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on Connor Krug and Andrew Zhang's play on Friday night

"We're really excited. We're looking forward to it. They're the standard in the conference and in the country right now. Again, tonight's match I thought was a clear step forward for us after a great week of practice. We've positioned ourselves to have a battle on Sunday." – Duke head coach Ramsey Smith on facing another ranked opponent in No. 3 Virginia on Sunday.

"I thought we came out with good energy, especially in the doubles. Obviously, we had a tough loss to Georgia Tech last Sunday, but we put in a really good week of practice just trying to make sure we came out strong and not on our heels. I really think it all started with doubles tonight. All three teams were on their front foot, playing aggressively and going for their shots. That kind of leaked over to singles. That momentum carries and I think every court took that going into singles." – Duke junior Connor Krug on his thoughts from the match

"We're going to use the confidence from tonight, but I think it goes even further back, we just have to trust our training and the work we've been putting in. I mean really the whole year not just this semester but the fall as well. They're a tough team and tennis is a tough sport so there are going to be tight moments. It's just going to be who executes better and goes for their shots." – Duke junior Connor Krug on having a quick turnaround and facing No. 3 Virginia on Sunday

Next Match
The Blue Devils welcome No. 3 Virginia on Sunday for a 2 p.m. match at Ambler Tennis Stadium. The Cavaliers are coming off a 4-2 victory over No. 30 North Carolina on Friday evening.

Results
Doubles (3,1*)
1. Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. #80 Ryan Fishback/Maxime St. Hilaire (VT) 6-4
2. #21 Michael Heller/Andrew Zhang (DU) vs. Matt Harper/Alberto Orso (VT) 5-5, unfinished
3. Faris Khan/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Michael Shepheard/Alex Ix (VT) 6-2

Singles (4,3,1*,2,6,5)
1. #47 Garrett Johns (DU) def. #60 Ryan Fishback (VT) 6-4, 6-4
2. #66 Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Maxime St. Hilaire (VT) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7)
3. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Hugo Maia (VT) 6-4, 6-0
4. Connor Krug (DU) def. Alex Ix (VT) 6-4, 6-2
5. Benjamin Pomeranets (VT) def. Alexander Visser (DU) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-7)
6. Alberto Orso (VT) def. Faris Khan (DU) 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6)

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

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