May 20, 2001

ATHENS, GEORGIA--Sixth-seeded Duke won their 16th consecutive match as the Blue Devils defeated the 11th-seeded Miami Hurricanes 4-1 in the round of 16 of the 2001 NCAA Men's Tennis Championships at the McWhorter Courts on the campus of the University of Georgia.

"I am very happy with our team's performance," said Duke head coach Jay Lapidus. "Miami really surprised me today. All the way up and down, Miami is a very good team. It was a very long day."

Duke (24-3) captured the doubles point with victories at the No.1 and No. 3 position in doubles as Duke gained the 1-0 lead. Half of the doubles was played inside, but the remaining of the match was moved indoor because of bad weather.

At No. 1 doubles, the 22nd-ranked team of Ramsey Smith and Phillip King defeated the 46th-ranked team of Peter Hoffman and Thomas Smid, 8-6, as they remained unbeaten on the year. At No. 3 doubles, Alex Bose and Andres Pedroso defeated Andrew Golub and Johan Lindqvist, 8-5. The No 2. doubles match was abandoned once Duke clinched the doubles point.

49th-ranked Pedroso got things started for Duke as he cruised by Hoffman 6-1, 6-2 to give Duke the 2-0 lead. Miami answered back to cut the score in half as Lindqvist upset 27th-ranked Marko Cerenko 7-6 (6-2), 6-4 to cut the Duke lead to 2-1. 20th-ranked Smith defeated Smid 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) in the closest match of the day to give Duke the 3-1 lead. Joel Spicher finished off Miami as he won his 15th consecutive match, a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Lose Lieberman.

Duke moves on to face 3rd-seeded Georgia, who defeated California 4-0, in the elite eight on Mon., May 21, at 4 p.m.

DOUBLES
1. Phillip King/Ramsey Smith-Duke (22) def. Peter Hoffman/Tomas Smid-Miami
(46), 8-6
2. Marko Cerenko/Mike Yani-Duke vs. Michael Lang/Jose Lieberman-Miami, 7-7,
suspended
3. Alex Bose/Andres Pedroso-Duke def. Andrew Golub/Johan Lindqvist-Miami,
8-5

SINGLES
1. Phillip King-Duke (9) vs. Michael Lang-Miami (46), 5-7, 6-2, 3-2,
suspended
2. Ramsey Smith-Duke (20) def. Tomas Smid-Miami, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3)
3. Johan Lindqvist-Miami def. Marko Cerenko-Duke (27) def. 7-6 (6-2), 6-4
4. Andres Pedroso-Duke (49) def. Peter Hoffman-Miami, 6-1, 6-2
5. Joel Spicher-Duke def. Jose Lieberman-Miami, 6-1, 6-1
6. Alex Bose-Duke vs. Andrew Golub, 3-4 suspended