DURHAM – No. 19 Duke men's tennis recorded a 5-2 win over No. 53 Georgia Tech on Friday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium.
 
Duke improves to 7-2 in ACC play and 14-5 overall with the win. Georgia Tech dips to 2-4 and 8-8, respectively.
 
"It was an important match for us today," Duke head coach Ramsey Smith said. "We did a really good job bouncing back after losing the doubles point. Our singles were really good and we competed extremely well. We got off the court quick on a couple courts and then it came down to needing to win two of the last three marches, and I just love the way we finished on those courts."

Junior Garrett Johns secured the overall win for the Blue Devils after he earned another victory over a nationally ranked opponent in singles play. The Atlanta, Ga., native registered 6-4, 6-2 wins over No. 30 Andres Martin for his 11th victory of the year and seventh over a ranked foe.
 
"We had a tough one last weekend against Louisville, so it was really good to get this one," Johns said after the match. "We knew today was going to be tough especially since we had a couple guys injured but our team stuck together, and we were able to get the win."
 
The Blue Devils found themselves down 1-0 in the match after Georgia Tech earned the doubles point. The sophomore-junior tandem of Andrew Dale and Andrew Zhang defeated Keshav Chopra and Chen Dong, 6-4, on court three to begin doubles play. Unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets tallied back-to-back 7-5 victories on court one and two, respectively, to secure the doubles point. No. 7 Martin and Marcus McDaniel bested Johns and Sean Sculley on the main court before Pablo Schlecher and Brandon McKinney claimed the win on court two over Jake Krug and Niroop Vallabhaneni.
 
The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 2-0 following Schlecher's 6-0, 6-3 victory over Krug on court six to begin singles play.
 
That would be all the Blue Devils would relinquish though, as they registered wins on the final five courts to record the come-from-behind victory. Dale got things started on court five by besting McKinney 6-0, 6-1. Edu Güell then tied the overall match up at 2-2 after he defeated Chopra 6-1, 6-3 on court three.
 
Zhang broke the deadlock on court two with his 6-4, 6-1 wins over McDaniel, before No. 64 Johns bested Martin to clinch the victory for Duke.
 
"Huge win for Garrett," Smith added. "He's had a couple matches where he's played too much defense and these top guys have taken it to him a little bit. I thought he had a commitment to stepping up in the court and taking the ball early. He finished some really big points at net, including match point. To finish the way he did, convincingly in that second set to clinch the match for us was awesome."

Vallabhaneni closed things out for the Blue Devils with one final win on court four. After dropping the opening set 6-2, the sophomore rallied back for 6-2, 1-0 (8) wins for his sixth dual singles victory of the year.

"We played without a couple guys, and I thought Jake [Krug] did a tremendous job jumping into doubles. He played a very good doubles set but came up just a little bit short. Niroop [Vallabhaneni] in singles was phenomenal. He's been out of the starting singles lineup for a few matches and has worked extremely hard. He bounced back from losing a tough first set and finished really strong against one of Georgia Tech's best spots."
 
The Blue Devils next welcome No. 65 Clemson and North Carolina A&T to Ambler Tennis Stadium on Sunday for a doubleheader. Duke will face off against the Tigers at noon before hosting the Aggies at 5 p.m. The Clemson contest will be a Royal Blue match as well as senior day. Parking will be available in the Blue Zone. Live stats and video will also be available for each match.

"It was good that we could get the win against a really good ACC team" Johns said. "But we've still got another tough one on Sunday to prepare for."
 
RESULTS
Singles (6,5,3,2,1*,4)
1. #64 Garrett Johns (DU) def. #30 Andres Martin (GT) 6-4, 6-2
2. Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Marcus McDaniel (GT) 6-4, 6-1
3. Edu Güell (DU) def. Keshav Chopra (GT) 6-1, 6-3
4. Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) def. Chen Dong (GT) 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8)
5. Andrew Dale (DU) def. Brandon McKinney (GT) 6-0, 6-1
6. Pablo Schlecher (GT) def. Jake Krug (DU) 6-0, 6-3
 
Doubles (3,1,2*)
1. #7 Andres Martin/Marcus McDaniel (GT) def. Garrett Johns/Sean Sculley (DU) 7-5
2. Pablo Schlecher/Brandon McKinney (GT) def. Jake Krug/Niroop Vallabhaneni (DU) 7-5
3. Andrew Dale/Andrew Zhang (DU) def. Keshav Chopra/Chen Dong (GT) 6-4
 
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