May 13, 2000

DURHAM, N.C. - The sixth-ranked Duke men's tennis team made quick work of their first-round NCAA tournament match, defeating Charleston Southern 4-0 in hot temperatures on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Duke improves to 23-5 on the season and is currently riding a season-long 10-match win streak. The Buccaneers close out their season with a 17-8 mark.

Duke took the doubles point by winning at No. 1 and 2 doubles. The nation's fifth-ranked duo of Doug Root and Ramsey Smith topped Charleston Southern's Rohan Wadehra and Sandeep Yeni Reddy, 8-4. At No. 2 doubles, Duke's Andres Pedroso and Ted Rueger won 8-3 over CSU's Ariel Furfuro and Rodrigo Villarroel.

The Blue Devils then clinched the match by capturing wins at No. 1, 2 and 3 singles. Pedro Escudero, playing in just his third singles match of the season, topped Reddy, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4 singles. Root, ranked 46th nationally in singles, topped Tomas Miho 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1. Smith, Duke's highest-ranked player at No. 34, then clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Wadehra at No. 2.

Duke advances to Sunday's second round, facing 43rd-ranked South Carolina. The Gamecocks were 4-3 winners over South Alabama in Saturday's first match at the Duke Tennis Stadium. Sunday's match is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start.

Doubles

1. #5 Doug Root/Ramsey Smith (DU) d.
Rohan Wadehra/Sandeep Yeni Reddy (CSU) 8-4

 2. Andres Pedroso/Ted Rueger (DU) d.
 Ariel Furfuro/Rodrigo Villarroel (CSU) 8-3

 3. Pedro Escudero/Porter Jones (DU) d.
 Bjorn Folkers/Santiago Falla (CSU)     DNF

Singles

1. #46 Doug Root (DU) d. Tomas Miho (CSU), 6-3, 6-1
2. #34 Ramsey Smith (DU) d. Rohan Wadehra (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
3. Pedro Escudero (DU) d. Sandeep Yeni Reddy (CSU), 6-4, 6-2
4. #48 Andres Pedroso (DU) vs. Rodrigo Villarroel (CSU), DNF
5. Joel Spicher (DU) vs. Bjorn Folkers (CSU), DNF
6. Marko Cerenko (DU) vs. Santiago Falla (CSU), DNF

POST MATCH QUOTES

Duke's Jay Lapidus
"With it being so hot out, I just wanted our guys to take care of business. I thought they did a good job, not letting any matches go too long. I thought we played well. I thought Doug Root and Ramsey Smith did an excellent job in doubles."

On playing South Carolina tomorrow:
"They are a very dangerous team. They're had a lot of injuries and have been dinged up all year. They've struggled in doubles, and they'd probably be the first to tell you that, but in singles, one through six, they are very good. It's going to be a tough match tomorrow."

Duke's Doug Root (#2 singles)
On the distractions of it being graduation weekend:
"There's a lot to deal with. There's so much going on around here, there are a lot of distractions. I'm just trying to stick to our priorities. This (the tournament) is what we've worked for all year, playing for the national championship."