Duke Drops Match to Florida State, 4-3

Friday, March 28

Durham, N.C.

5:00 PM

Duke University

Florida State

Duke Drops Match to Florida State, 4-3

3/28/2025 9:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – No. 13 Duke men's tennis fell 4-3 to No. 37 Florida State on Friday night at Ambler Tennis Stadium. The match was decided when Alex Bulte clinched his third set on court three, securing the fourth and final point for the Seminoles.

Duke is now 15-5 overall and 7-2 in conference play, while FSU improves to 13-7 and 5-4 in ACC matches.

The Blue Devils got off to a strong start by clinching the doubles point. In singles, Duke picked up wins from sophomore Cooper Williams on court two and senior Connor Krug on court five and led 3-0. However, the Seminoles took victories on courts one, three, four and six to complete the comeback.

How it happened

Duke claimed the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead.
At the top spot, the No. 25-ranked duo of Cooper Williams and graduate student Theo Winegar pulled off an upset over FSU's No. 6-ranked pairing of Alex Bulte and Youcef Rihane. The Blue Devils raced out to a 4-0 lead before the Seminoles took a game, but Duke closed it out by winning the next two.
On court two, graduate student Andreja Petrovic and junior Pedro Rodenas pulled away from a 2-2 tie by winning three of four games to lead Joshua Dous-Karpenschif and Erik Schiessl 5-3. The Seminoles tied it at 5-5 with a two-game run, but Duke responded with a game to win and claim the doubles point.
Junior Gerard Planelles Ripoll and graduate student Remy Dugardin's match on court three went unfinished at 5-5.
Krug gave Duke a 2-0 lead by winning his singles match in straight sets on court No. 5. He held a 5-3 lead in the first set before Dous-Karpenschif closed the gap to 5-4, but Krug responded by winning a game to take the set. He dominated the second set, 6-1.
Williams extended the lead to 3-0 for Duke with a straight-set win on court No. 2 against No. 40 Jamie Connel. Set one was tied at 4-4 before No. 71 Williams posted two games to take it, 6-4. In the second, Williams built a 4-1 lead before Connel narrowed the gap to 5-4, but Williams claimed his match by clinching the next game.
Florida State got on the board with a two-set victory on court six. Rihane edged Ripoll 7-5 in a decisive tiebreak for the first set, then cruised 6-2 in the second.
The Seminoles decreased their deficit to 3-2 after a three-set win on court four. Dugardin took the first set 6-2, but Eric Schiessl came back with a 6-4 win in set two and a 6-0 third set.
FSU tied the match 3-3 with a win on court one. No. 14 Corey Craig won the first set 6-2 over Rodenas, but Rodenas rallied to take the second set 6-1. In the decider, Craig pulled away from a 4-4 tie to win two straight games and seal the match.
The Seminoles clinched the team victory on court three. Petrovic claimed the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (6), but Bulte bounced back to take the next two sets, 6-1 and 6-2.

Quotes

"Doubles were great. We had two new teams at the top two positions, and Cooper and Theo did awesome. That is a tough team, and they played great. As a brand-new team, Pedro and Andreja did great, too."
"This one stings. Credit to Florida State—they were bolder, braver and earned the win. We were in a position to win, but we faded a bit at the end, which hurts. There are two ways to respond, so we just have to put our heads down and have a great practice tomorrow. Definitely disappointing but looking forward to bouncing back." -Head coach Ramsey Smith

Up Next

The Blue Devils welcome Miami to Durham for a 2 p.m. match in Ambler Stadium on Sunday. Prior to the start of the match, Duke will honor its six seniors.

Results
Doubles (1,2)
1. #25 Cooper Williams/Theo Winegar (DU) def. #6 Alex Bulte/Youcef Rihane (FSU) 6-2
2. Pedro Rodenas/Andreja Petrovic (DU) def. J. Dous-Karpenschif/Erik Schiessl (FSU) 6-4
3. Remy Dugardin/Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) vs. Azariah Rusher/Jan Sebesta (FSU) 5-5, unfinished

Singles (5,2,6,4,1,3)
1. #14 Corey Craig (FSU) def. #36 Pedro Rodenas (DU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
2. #71 Cooper Williams (DU) def. #40 Jamie Connel (FSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Alex Bulte (FSU) def. Andreja Petrovic (DU) 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-2
4. Erik Schiessl (FSU) def. Remy Dugardin (DU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
5. Connor Krug (DU) def. J. Dous-Karpenschif (FSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Youcef Rihane (FSU) def. Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2

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

#GoDuke