April 1, 2012
Durham, N.C. – Juan Spir captured Georgia Tech’s lone point with a straight-set win at No. 2 singles and paired with All-American Kevin King for a doubles win, but 6th-ranked Duke downed the Yellow Jackets, 6-1, Sunday at the Ambler Tennis Stadium.
Tech fell back below .500 for the season (8-9) and in conference play (3-4), while the Blue Devils improved to 16-3 overall and 5-1 in the ACC.
Duke captured the doubles point despite a loss at the No. 1 spot. King and Spir, ranked 7th in the nation, outlasted the Blue Devils’ 26th-rated team of Henrique Cunha and Chris Mengel, 9-7. Raphael Hemmeler and Cale Hammond got by Tech’s Vikram Hundal and Sebastain Lopez at No. 2, 9-8, while Fred Saba and Jason Tahir routed Dusan Miljevic and Eduardo Segura, 8-2, at No. 3.
The Blue Devils took control of the match with quick wins against Tech freshmen at the bottom of the singles lineup. Hemmeler defeated Lopez, 6-0, 6-3, at No. 5, while Tahir dispatched Hundal at No. 6 by a score of 6-3, 7-5.
Spir, a junior from Medellin, Colombia, got Tech on the board, winning both sets in a tie breaker for a 7-6, 7-6 win over 26th-ranked Mengel. Saba then clinched the match for Duke with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over Juan Melian at No. 4.
Duke then close out the match with three-set wins at No. 3 and No. 1. Torsten Wietoska beat Miljevic, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, at No. 4, and Cunha, ranked 6th nationally, outlasted 11th-ranked King, 7-6, 5-7, 1-0, at No. 1.
Tech is off until next weekend, when it hosts Virginia Tech and Virginia on Friday and Saturday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.
#6 Duke 6, #62 Georgia Tech 1
April 1, 2012 at Durham, N.C.
Ambler Tennis Stadium
Singles competition
1. #6 Henrique Cunha (DU) def. #11 Kevin King (GT) 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 1-0 (10-6)
2. Juan Spir (GT) def. #26 Chris Mengel (DU) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3)
3. #106 Torsten Wietoska (DU) def. Dusan Miljevic (GT) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-0)
4. Fred Saba (DU) def. Juan Melian (GT) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
5. Raphael Hemmeler (DU) def. Sebastian Lopez (GT) 6-0, 6-3
6. Jason Tahir (DU) def. Vikram Hundal (GT) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #7 Kevin King/Juan Spir (GT) def. #26 Henrique Cunha/Chris Mengel (DU) 9-7
2. Raphael Hemmeler/Cale Hammond (DU) def. Vikram Hundal/Sebastian Lopez (GT) 9-8
(7-3) 3. Fred Saba/Jason Tahir (DU) def. Dusan Miljevic/Eduardo Segura (GT) 8-2
Match Notes:
Georgia Tech 8-9, 3-4 ACC; National ranking #62
Duke 16-3, 5-1 ACC; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,2,4,3,1)
