May 14, 2000

DURHAM, N.C. - In a match that was about as close as it possibly could be, the sixth-ranked Duke Blue Devils fought off a tough South Carolina team to win 4-3 and advance to the NCAA Championships round of 16 in Athens, Ga. The match was determined at No. 1 singles, where Duke senior Doug Root won a three-set battle in a tiebreaker 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(5) over South Carolina's Robert Steckley.

The match was not won without controversy, however. Root was up 5-4 in the third set, having already served several match points. He was called for an audible obscenity, giving Steckley a game point and tying the set at five apiece. Steckley then went up 6-5 before Root won the next game to force the tiebreaker. Root then went up 5-1 in the tiebreak, but Steckley went on a 3-0 run, making it 5-4. The players traded points again, and Root went on to win the tiebreaker 7-5, giving Duke the team victory.

The win also gave Root his 100th career singles victory, in what was his final home match at the Duke Tennis Stadium. Root is the fifth player in Duke tennis history to reach that mark. Duke started off the match by winning the doubles point, taking No. 2 and 3 doubles. At No. 2, Duke's Andres Pedroso and Ted Rueger came back

from a 2-0 deficit to take eight of the next nine games, winning 8-3. At No. 3 doubles, Blue Devils Porter Jones and Pedro Escudero rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 7-4 to win 9-8 (5). In a battle of ranked teams at No. 1 doubles, Duke's Root and Ramsey Smith, ranked fifth nationally, had just gone up 8-7 over No. 46 Jerome Jourdon and Steckley when Duke clinched the point at No. 3.

South Carolina's Olof Akesson grabbed the Gamecocks' first point at No. 5 singles, where he defeated Duke's Joel Spicher, 6-4, 6-0, in the most easily-decided match of the day. At No. 6 singles, Duke's Marko Cerenko avenged a loss earlier in the season to USC's Juan Gamboa, winning 6-2, 6-4. Duke then went up 3-1 in the match when Pedro Escudero topped 84th-ranked Guillaume Legat, 7-5, 6-4 at No. 3 singles.

South Carolina freshman Seth Rose brought the match score to 3-2 with an upset win over Duke's 48th-ranked Andres Pedroso, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 4 singles. The Gamecocks' Jerome Jourdon then evened the match with another upset, defeating 34th-ranked Ramsey Smith, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.

The attention then focused on No. 1 singles, where Root, after dropping the first set 7-5, won the second 6-2. After getting down 2-0 in the third set, Root evened it at three apiece, then went 5-3, the biggest margin of the set.

With the win Duke improves to 24-5 on the season, while South Carolina closes out its season with a 10-13 mark. Duke will next play Southern Methodist, winners over Georgia in its second-round match, in Athens on May 20.

Duke vs. South Carolina
Coach: Jay Lapidus Coach: Kent DeMars

Doubles
1. #5 Doug Root/Ramsey Smith (DU) vs. #46 Jerome Jourdon/Robert Steckley (USC)-- DNF
2. Andres Pedroso/Ted Rueger (DU) d. Guillaume Legat/Juan Gamboa (USC)-- 8-3
3. Porter Jones/Pedro Escudero d. Olof Akesson/David Nelson (USC)-- 9-8 (5)
(Duke wins doubles point)

Singles
1. #46 Doug Root (DU) d. Robert Steckley (USC) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(5) 2-0
2. Jerome Jourdon (USC) d. #34 Ramsey Smith (DU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 2-1
3. Pedro Escudero (DU) d. #84 Guillaume Legat (USC) 7-5, 6-4 3-1
4. Seth Rose (USC) d. #48 Andres Pedroso (DU) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 3-2
5. Olof Akesson (USC) d. Joel Spicher (DU) 6-4, 6-0 3-3
6. Marko Cerenko (DU) d. Juan Gamboa (USC) 6-2, 6-0 4-3

POST MATCH QUOTES

Duke Head Coach Jay Lapidus
"Like I said yesterday, I knew South Carolina was a dangerous team and that this would be a tough match. And wow, they showed up to play. It was vastly different from what I expected, after they played such a tough match yesterday. They fought the whole way."

On the play of Doug Root:
"Doug did an unbelievable job under pressure. His maturity as a senior showed up. Ninety-nine percent of players would have folded in that situation. But it was a great tribute to his mental state."

Duke's Doug Root (#1 singles)
"You never know what to expect when we play South Carolina. They are so talented. I was really nervous about this match today."

South Carolina Head Coach Kent DeMars
"It was very tough. They always are when we play Duke. For some reason it always brings out the best in both teams. We've had some great matches through the years. Today, we probably played as good as we could play.

Comparing today's match to a 4-3 loss to Duke earlier in the season:
"Both matches were really good. I think Duke has gotten better. They've added (Pedro) Escudero to the lineup and that's really helped them. And he won for them today. I thought that (No. 4 singles) was the key match. If we had taken that one, I felt like we could've won the match.

South Carolina's Robert Steckley (#1 singles)
"It was a tough match, but it helped having the guys cheer me on. I was hoping it wouldn't come down to my match, but I had a feeling it would. In the third set I was physically and mentally tired, but I just kept fighting. I gave it the old college try."