HONOLULU, Hawai’i – No. 20 Duke recorded its first dual win of the 2023 season after it defeated Hawai’i, 7-0, at the UH Tennis Complex on Tuesday afternoon.
Since head coach Ramsey Smith took over in 2008-09, the Blue Devils are 13-2 in season openers.
Juniors Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni went 2-0 on the day with victories in both doubles and singles action against the Rainbow Warriors.
The pair helped Duke claim the doubles point by registering the day’s first victory following a 6-1 triumph over Lucas Labrunie and Andy Hernandez on court three. The No. 49 doubles duo of Michael Heller and Andrew Zhang then bested Andre Ilagan and Karl Collins, 6-2, on the top court to hand the Blue Devils’ the early 1-0 edge in the overall match. The final doubles match between Garrett Johns and Pedro Rodenas against Axel Labrunie and Kilian Maitre went unfinished with the contest knotted at 4-4.
Khan increased Duke’s overall advantage to 2-0 after registering a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Maitre on court six to begin singles action.
Sophomore Connor Krug was the next Blue Devil finisher, claiming a 6-3, 6-0 win over Lucas Labrunie on court three.
Freshman No. 84 Rodenas then secured the match for Duke when he tallied a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court two over Axel Labrunie.
No. 4 Johns, Vallabhaneni and Jake Krug all added to Duke’s final score with victories of their own. Johns bested No. 41 Ilagan 6-2, 7-5 on the top court before Vallabhaneni defeated Guillaume Tattevin on court four in tiebreak fashion at 6-2, 7-6 (3). Jake Krug closed things out by registering a 7-6 (9) win in the opening set and a 6-2…
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