DURHAM, N.C. – After the regular seasons concluded for Duke's men's and women's tennis teams, each squad named its Charles Hamilton Hargrave Most Valuable Player for the 2015-16 campaign. For the men, sophomore Nicolas Alvarez received the honor while junior Chalena Scholl was the women's pick.
Charles Hamilton Hargrave was one of the Blue Devils' first men's team captains, lettering for the program in 1927-28. His family wanted to keep his memory alive within the Duke Tennis program and endowed the MVP award in his name.
"Nico has been our team MVP the second half a the spring season,” Duke men's tennis head coach Ramsey Smith said. “We constantly preach finishing strong and he is playing his best tennis right now. Nico is our most professional student-athlete and the person who is most dedicated to his tennis development. Nico has been working extremely hard and I am very excited about his opportunity to compete in Tulsa with the best college tennis players in the country."
Alvarez, who has been ranked among the top 26 singles players all year, owns a 17-14 overall record. He topped the Blue Devils with 10 wins against nationally ranked opponents and went 6-5 versus ACC foes. Alvarez's six league victories, all at No. 1, tied for the most on the squad. The Lima, Peru, product clinched a team-leading four matches. After tallying both deciding points in 7-0 sweeps against N.C. A&T and Charlotte, Alvarez was tabbed the February 23 ACC Player of the Week. He has been on a hot streak near the end of the campaign with wins in his last three matches and six of the last seven, five against ACC foes.
“It is definitely an honor,” Alvarez said. “It is not easy to do on a team with such good players and people. I'm just happy to be a part of this team. These coaches are backing me up and I feel like everyone was an MVP in different parts of the season.”
Scholl, ranked 64th in the latest national poll, saw a breakout season for the Blue Devils in 2016, recording career highs in singles wins (21) and doubles victories (19). Scholl has split time between courts one, two, three and four, compiling a near-perfect 6-1 record while competing on court one. Scholl's 21 singles victories are the second most among her teammates this season, with five of those wins coming against nationally ranked opponents. Scholl also posted 11 wins against ACC competition, the second most of any Blue Devil this year.
“The biggest thing is everything she has had to overcome to get back to where she is now,” Blue Devil women's head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “She has battled back from so much adversity, and I think people on the team understand and see that. I think the award coming from a vote of teammates means a heck of a lot more than it would coming from the coaches. Her teammates are the ones who see her day in and day out, in the locker room and away from the courts. They see the work she puts in and the effort.”
“It really means a lot,” Scholl said. “All of the hard work I put in and whenever I put in hard work, I always think of my teammates. The only reason I do it is for them. It really does mean a lot. It is important to recognize that every single person on this team works really hard. It is really special to have your name in the Bonk Room [of Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center] and to have people who are coming here in the following years see it and make it something they'll work towards as well.”
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