SKILLMAN, N.J. – One week before the beginning of the 2016 spring campaign, the Duke men's tennis team has earned the No. 13 ranking in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, according to an announcement by the ITA on Tuesday. The Blue Devils ended the 2015 campaign at No. 10.
Duke is one of five Atlantic Coast Conference teams to be ranked among the ITA's top 18, joining No. 1 Virginia, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 11 Wake Forest and No. 16 Virginia Tech. The Blue Devils have finished within the top 15 of the final ITA poll for the last six years. The ACC, Big 12 and Southeastern Conference tied for the national lead with five ranked teams each.
In addition to the team accolades, two Blue Devils appear in the individual rankings. Sophomore Nicolas Alvarez checks in at No. 12. A native of Lima, Peru, Alvarez turned in one of the best freshman campaigns in program history and earned All-America honors, becoming Duke's 21st All-American. Alvarez ended the 2015 campaign ranked No. 11 in the final Oracle/ ITA poll, the highest for a Blue Devil since Henrique Cunha was No. 5 in 2013. At the conclusion of Alvarez's rookie year, he was named the ITA Carolina Region Player to Watch and earned first team All-ACC honors. He posted a 31-11 overall singles record with all 11 losses coming against nationally ranked opponents. The 31 wins were tied for the eighth most by a freshman in program history. This fall, Alvarez went 4-4 in singles with seven matches against ranked foes. He finished as the runner up at the Oracle/ITA Master's event in Malibu, Calif.
Joining Alvarez is junior TJ Pura, who earned the first ranking of his career, at No. 102. Pura wrapped up the fall with a 6-3 record in singles. The Pacific Palisades, Calif., product advanced to the Round of 32 at the USTA/ITA Carolina Regional with wins against UNC Greensboro's Warren Bryan and UNC Wilmington's Xander Veys. Pura then played his best tennis at the Wake Forest Invite, going 3-1 and claiming the A1 flight consolation championship. In 2014-15, Pura went 22-10 in singles, playing primarily in the No. 6 slot and posting a 12-4 mark there.
In addition to the national rankings, the ITA also released its first regional list of the year. Alvarez was tabbed the No. 1 player in the Carolina Regional while Pura was No. 9.
The Blue Devils open the spring campaign Friday, January 15 by hosting Elon. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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