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topicnews · October 23, 2024

2 Blue Devils advance to singles final while Duke women’s tennis impresses at ITA Regional Championships

2 Blue Devils advance to singles final while Duke women’s tennis impresses at ITA Regional Championships

The ITA Regional Championships singles draw final never took place Sunday night in Chapel Hill. Instead, Duke’s two finalists, Eleana Yu and Irina Balus, agreed not to play and both advanced to the sectionals.

The championship was the culmination of strong performances from head coach Jamie Ashworth’s entire squad over the weekend, which saw three Blue Devils in the semi-finals and four in the quarter-finals.

For Yu, Sunday’s semifinal was the highlight of a dominant weekend of tennis. The Stanford transfer only lost one set all weekend, including a straight-sets victory over preseason No. 26-ranked Carson Tanguilig. Balus was also impressive in her matches. The freshman from Banská Bystrica, Slovakia also conceded just one set in her five matches, with her semifinal victory coming over fellow Blue Devil Shavit Kimchi.

Duke had three top-50 players in the ITA preseason rankings, so adding two more strong individual players in the spring will be crucial for a team that couldn’t quite hold its own against the ACC’s elite last season.

Ashworth was particularly proud of the way Yu and Balus handled the stress points that the team often struggled with last year.

“I thought they both played really well for the big points all weekend. When the points were big and it was needed, they played really mature points and played really intelligent tennis,” Ashworth said. “It was nice to see something we’ve been talking about with everyone.”

He also emphasized that the presence of the newcomers had a positive effect on morale. With star returners like Kimchi and senior Emma Jackson, a star transfer and freshman like Yu and Balus could certainly add excitement to the locker room. Instead, the two, along with freshman Ava Krug, were spark plugs for Duke this fall.

“It’s a good mix with some newcomers and some older roles. And we have a lot to look forward to. I know as a team they were looking forward to each other and their result this weekend, that was great to see,” Ashworth said. “There is not a lot of selfishness in this team. They support us and want their teammates to be successful.”

Following the singles championship, the draw for the doubles championship took place Monday afternoon, this time a match between Ellie Coleman and Balus of Duke against crosstown rivals Tanguilig and Susanna Maltby of North Carolina. This time, Ashworth’s team had more trouble scoring big, and it was an all-too-familiar result for his players against the Tar Heels.

Coleman and Balus were competitive throughout the match, even opening the first set with a break of serve and later having a chance to close it out. But they never managed to get Tanguilig and Maltby away. The game ended two sets to nil (7-5, 7-5) in North Carolina’s favor. However, for Ashworth, this was an opportunity to try out potential doubles pairings for the spring season.

“We were up early in the first part [set]. I think we missed some chances and had some chances to really go up in the first set. I know it’s the first time these two have played together, with Ellie and Irina. I think they’re still trying to understand each other’s games,” Ashworth said. “They are still trying to understand where they are going to move each other and what to do with serves and volleys. This is one of the reasons why we change our partners. We are trying to find the best combinations for our spring season and they have had some good results.”

While some players are looking forward to the NCAA Individual Championships in November and more ITA tournaments this fall, Ashworth remains focused on the upcoming spring season.

“I think we’re progressing to where we want to be in the fall. We learn to exploit pressure points better. We learn to play different situations better. It’s all getting ready for spring,” Ashworth said. “I know the girls have some thoughts about the NCAA singles tournament in November, but I think it’s all part of our long-term goal when we take the court in January.”

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