TEMPE, Ariz. – For the 15th time in the last 16 seasons, the Duke men’s tennis team opened the dual match portion of the schedule with a victory. The 25th-ranked Blue Devils welcomed Arizona State back to NCAA competition with a 4-2 triumph Saturday at the Whiteman Tennis Center with redshirt junior Nicolas Alvarez securing the match-winning point.
Saturday’s match was not just the season opener for both clubs, but also marked the Sun Devils’ restart of their program after halting it following the 2008 campaign. Duke eliminated Arizona State from the 2008 NCAA Team Championship and a rematch served as the first match for the Sun Devils in 2018.