Jan. 21, 2008
Duke's Dimitrov, UNC's Donato and Hardy Win Duke Invitational Titles
DURHAM, N.C. - No. 16 Duke's Kiril Dimitrov won the Duke Invitational singles championship while No. 10 North Carolina's Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy earned the doubles title with victories on the final day of the tournament at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham.
Dimitrov improved to an undefeated 3-0 on the weekend with a three-set victory over North Carolina's Benjamin Carlotti. After losing the first set 4-6, Dimitrov rallied back to win the final two sets 6-3, 6-4 to edge out Michigan's Matko Maravic by two points for the singles title. Dimitrov improved to 8-5 on the year with the win.
Donato and Hardy were a perfect 3-0 in the Duke Invitational and closed out the weekend with an 8-3 win over the Blue Devils' tandem of David Goulet and Alain Michel. The UNC duo finished three points ahead of Michigan's 23rd-ranked Jason Jung and Mike Sroczynski.
Two other Blue Devils went 3-0 in singles action. Reid Carleton downed Stefan Hardy of North Carolina in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Carleton earned his 10th victory of the season and is now 10-4 overall. Aaron Carpenter also battled his way to a three-set win against the Tar Heel's Karl Wishart 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Carpenter improves to 5-3 in his second season at Duke.
