May 27, 2000

ATHENS, Ga. ---- The Duke tandem of Doug Root (Mendham, N.J.) and Ramsey Smith (Hilton Head, S.C.) advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA doubles championship on Saturday morning, but saw their run end later that afternoon with a loss to Southern Cal in the national semifinals.

In their quarterfinal match on Saturday morning, the Blue Devils, ranked fifth nationally, defeated 12th-ranked Marco Baron and Charles Sevigny of Mississippi State in a close battle. After dropping the first set, 6-7, Root/Smith took the next two 7-5, 7-5 to advance to a Duke doubles team first-ever appearance in the national semifinals.

On Saturday afternoon, Duke took on 11th-ranked Ryan Moore and Nick Rainey of Southern California. The Blue Devils dropped the first set 6-4, and fought to a 3-3 tie in the second. USC then went up 5-3, but Duke won one more game before the Trojans went on to claim the match 6-4, 6-4 and advance to the national championship match.

Saturday's semifinal appearance marked the final collegiate match for Duke's Doug Root. The senior ended his career as one of the most successful players in Duke history. Root finished with a 101-79 career singles mark, which ranks fifth at Duke all-time, and a 121-51 career doubles mark. His carer 31-12 record in doubles with Smith ranks them as Duke's third-best doubles team all-time. Root also collected four consecutive All-ACC and two All-America honors during his career (1997, 2000).