DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke men's tennis team remained undefeated at home by sweeping Boston College 7-0 inside Ambler Tennis Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The fifth-ranked Blue Devils had the match clinched by senior Jason Tahir on court two.
The Blue Devils improved to 19-3 overall, tied with the 1982 and 2001 teams for the best 22-match record in program history. Duke is also 6-2 in the ACC and 13-0 at home this year. Duke is 17-1 in its last 18 outdoor home matches and also went unbeaten at home in 2013 at 15-0.
Duke won the doubles point for the second time this weekend, capturing victories on courts three and one. On three, junior Bruno Semenzato and sophomore TJ Pura cruised past Alexander Aziz and Jeffrey Melvin, 8-3. Duke led 2-0 and Boston College won a game, but the Blue Devils won six of the next eight games to end the set. Pura and Semenzato upped their record to 3-2 and are 2-1 in league matches.
On court one, Tahir and freshman Nicolas Alvarez downed Philip Nelson and Matt Wagner, 8-1. Tahir and Alvarez broke to go up 3-1 and never looked back. Alvarez and Tahir are 1-1 playing together in their careers, both contests this weekend.
On court two, Blue Devil senior Raphael Hemmeler and junior Josh Levine led Boston College's Kent Mukai and Will Turner, 6-4, when play was halted.
“I thought we were solid in doubles and built on some momentum from the last couple days and certainly yesterday against Notre Dame,” head coach Ramsey Smith said.
In singles, Duke cruised through all six matches for the 7-0 final.
Court one finished first with Alvarez topping Nelson, 6-1, 6-1. Nelson won his first game of the match and then lost 11 consecutive contests before he won again. Alvarez, ranked No. 11, is now 28-7 and 3-3 within the ACC. His 28 wins are also two shy of entering Duke's top-10 chart for victories by a freshman.
“I thought Nico [Alvarez] really stood out today,” Smith said. “He has lost a couple matches and he really looked good today. Today he was great from start to finish.”
Hemmeler finished just after Alvarez, downing Kyle Childree, 6-0, 6-1, on court three for a 3-0 Duke lead. No. 101 Hemmeler captured the first seven games of the match before Childree broke through. Hemmeler's win was the 112th of his career, tying him with Rob Chess (1993-96) for fourth on Duke's all-time list. Hemmeler owns a team-high seven match winning streak and is 31-7 overall and 7-1 in the ACC. His 31 victories are three away from entering the program's top-10 list for wins in a campaign.
“Raphael kept doing what he's been doing,” Smith added. “He's been such a strong spot for us. He played very clean today.”
It was No. 34 Tahir on court two who clinched and made it a 4-0 advantage for the Blue Devils, defeating Mukai, 6-2, 6-0. Mukai made it a 2-1 deficit in the first set before Tahir won four of the final five games. Tahir breezed through the final set and improved to 21-15 overall and 4-4 in ACC matches. Tahir's 29 career ACC singles victories are tied with Peter Rodrigues (2004-07) for the fourth most in program history.
Pura made it a five-point advantage for Duke as he topped Wagner, 6-4, 6-2, on court five. Pura trailed 3-1 in the first set before storming back with four consecutive victories to take a 5-3 lead. Wagner held on his service game, but so did Pura, ending the set. In the second set, Pura led 3-2 before taking the last three games to end the match. Pura is now 16-8 overall and 6-2 in league matches. His six ACC wins are the second most on the team.
Duke went ahead 6-0 on court six, where Levine defeated Melvin, 6-4, 6-1. Levine fell behind 2-0 in the first set but rallied with three straight wins to go ahead 3-2. Melvin answered and evened the set at 4-4 before Levine took the last two games. In the second set, Levine came out strong and led 4-1 before finishing off Melvin. Levine snapped a four-match losing streak and is now 16-13 overall.
The match ended with a lengthy battle on court four between Semenzato and Turner, eventually claimed, 7-6 (6), 2-6, 1-0 (8) by Semenzato. In the first set, Semenzato led 3-1 and 5-3, but Turner responded both times and tied the set at 5-5. Turner took a 6-5 lead before Semenzato held his serve to push the set into the tiebreaker. Turner led 5-2 in the tiebreaker before Semenzato evened it at 6-6 and took the final two points for the victory. In the second set, Turner led 3-1. Semenzato cut it to a 3-2 deficit, but Turner won the last three games. With the overall match already determined, the third set was a first-to-10 tiebreaker. Semenzato led 3-2 before Turner came back and took a 5-3 lead. Semenzato then made his run, going ahead 9-6. Turner won two points to cut the deficit to 9-8, but Turner hit a return deep to complete the Duke sweep. Semenzato is now 25-10 and 5-3 in league matches.
The Blue Devils return to action at 3 p.m. Thursday at No. 19 North Carolina.
#5 Duke 7, Boston College 0
April 4, 2015 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)
Singles competition
1. #11 Nicolas Alvarez (DU) def. Philip Nelson (BC) 6-1, 6-1
2. #34 Jason Tahir (DU) def. Kent Mukai (BC) 6-2, 6-0
3. #101 Raphael Hemmeler (DU) def. Kyle Childree (BC) 6-0, 6-1
4. Bruno Semenzato (DU) def. Will Turner (BC) 7-6 (6), 2-6, 1-0 (8)
5. TJ Pura (DU) def. Matt Wagner (BC) 6-4, 6-2
6. Josh Levine (DU) def. Jeffrey Melvin (BC) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Nicolas Alvarez/Jason Tahir (DU) def. Philip Nelson/Matt Wagner (BC) 8-1
2. Raphael Hemmeler/Josh Levine (DU) led Kent Mukai/Will Turner (BC) 6-4
3. Bruno Semenzato/TJ Pura (DU) def. Alexander Aziz/Jeffrey Melvin (BC) 8-3
Match Notes
Boston College 7-13, 0-8 ACC
Duke 19-3, 6-2 ACC; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,3,2,5,6,4)
T-2:20 A-109
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