Illinois assistant men’s tennis coach Kent Kinnear may have spent the last few years in North Carolina, but when the No. 3 Illini travel to Durham, N.C., on Friday the team will receive anything but a warm welcome.

No. 9 Duke is one of the nation’s best teams and a perennial ACC powerhouse. The Blue Devils are led by five seniors, including two-time All-American senior Ludovic Walter, who reached the finals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships. Senior Jonathan Stokke also poses a threat for Illinois when they take the courts at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. Stokke, a two-time All-ACC selection, has also appeared in the main draw of the U.S. Open, playing doubles with former Illini Rajeev Ram.

“Walter is an absolute monster,” said Illinois head coach Brad Dancer. “He beat the pants off of (Illinois senior) Ryler DeHeart last year, and I expect him to bring his ‘A’ game again.”

Duke will also get assistance from former Big Ten standout Joey Atas. Atas, a junior, transferred to Duke from Ohio State. Since joining the Blue Devils, Atas teamed with Stokke to win the doubles championship at the Southern Intercollegiates.

The Illini are confident they will be able to prevail, despite the longstanding rivalry between the two teams. In 2004, Illinois squeaked out a 4-3 win over the Blue Devils on its way to the ITA National Indoor Team Championship. Duke, however, got revenge later that season when the teams met in Durham.

The men said they feel they will have an advantage this year, leading off with a strong doubles lineup that includes the sophomore towers of 6-foot-7 Kevin Anderson and 6-foot-5 Ryan Rowe.

“Our serve is going to be one of our major strengths,” Anderson said. “But we’re returning better, which is also the goal.”

Illinois hopes to secure the doubles point, to subdue the Duke fans in attendance. The Blue Devil fans create one of the most hostile environments the Illini will see all year, DeHeart said.

“It will be pretty loud and pretty intense,” DeHeart said. “Hopefully that will bring out the competitive juices in our guys.”

Sophomore Ruben Gonzales said the Illini will be ready for the atmosphere in Durham.

“Crowd or no crowd, we are just going to prepare how we usually do and just play our match,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales will be looking for a chance to redeem himself after his loss to Virginia’s Rylan Rizza last weekend. It was a match he described as “pretty poor.”

“I can only play better,” Gonzales said.

Although the Illini have not had as much time to prepare for this weekend’s competition as Dancer would have liked, the men are planning on using the experience as a chance to tweak individual aspects of their game and build up their mental toughness that will be crucial as the season progresses.

“It is just another stepping stone in the right direction for this team,” DeHeart said.