Down 6-1, 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the ITA Sectional Championships, Irina Balus and Ellie Coleman knew they had to keep fighting, and they did.
With a chance to advance to the NCAA Individual Championships on the line, athletes compete in both singles and doubles matches. The duo buckled down and delivered a masterful performance from there on.
Balus and Coleman powered back to win the second set 6-4, and then crushed Pennsylvania’s Esha Velaga and Lara Stojanovski 10-2 in the third-set tiebreaker of the Sectional semifinal, guaranteeing them a spot in the NCAA Doubles Championships, which will take place in Waco, Texas. On the singles side of the draw, senior Emma Jackson also qualified for the individual championships, joining Balus, Coleman and sophomore transfer Eleana Yu.
“It wasn’t like we were doing something wrong, it’s just that they were doing everything right, and we didn’t have an answer for that,” Balus said. “But we kept fighting, waiting for that moment where the match would turn around and we would gain a little bit of confidence, and it came.”
This is now the second tournament in a row where the pair has found success. Earlier this fall at the ITA Regionals, they advanced to the championship match, and the two have even begun to develop a mentor-mentee relationship.
“I think me and Ellie are a great match. She has a lot of experience in college tennis already, so I feel like I can learn a lot from her,” Balus said. “But I’ve also played European tournaments so I can bring something new to doubles pairing, and I feel like it works well.”
For Coleman, the fall has been a full-circle experience, now as a senior playing with a freshman. Knowing what those matches meant to her has helped her be as supportive as possible, but also made her keep an open mind while playing with Balus.
“When I was a freshman, I played doubles with an upperclassman, and I think that was just a really great experience for me to be able to learn from someone older than me. To be in that upperclassmen position, it's been really enjoyable,” Coleman said. “And honestly, Irina is teaching me just as much … she's a super mature freshman coming in, and so I think it's been great chemistry as a doubles team.”
Sitting courtside and watching was head coach Jamie Ashworth, who was especially proud of the way the pair came back on Saturday. Noting that this was certainly not their best match of tennis thus far, he was impressed by the resiliency shown from the pair.
“I think that's a mark of a good team. You have to be able to win matches like that, not on great days,” Ashworth said. They played well the entire [tournament] and up until that last match, and just started off, it was like, ‘Okay, today's not our day.’ But they figured out a way to fight and compete.”
When discussing the immediate success of Balus, who also will be competing on the singles side of next week’s tournament after previously qualifying at ITA Regionals, he made clear that the ultimate goal begins in the spring. This is the first year that the NCAA Individual Championships have taken place in the fall, which should allow the players to focus more on the team when that time of year comes around.
“For us as coaches, we’re really gearing everything we have towards the spring … [Irina] has been a great team addition, and in the spring it’s going to be all new. Playing dual matches is a lot different than playing individual tournaments,” Ashworth said. “You're playing for more than yourself. I think that it'll be exciting for her and that's the reason why she came to college. Next week for her, just like all of them, I hope they take advantage of the opportunity.”
With Jackson’s result, Duke will have four singles players in Waco. This will be Jackson’s first appearance in the NCAA Singles Championship, following a come-from-behind victory over Columbia’s Malak El Allami.
“For Emma, you’re basically in a must win situation. She knows what's on the line walking onto the court, as this is her last opportunity to make the NCAA Individuals [as a senior],” Ashworth said. “I thought she handled herself really well. I was proud of how composed she stayed the entire match. She didn't let the moment get too big.”
After the tournament concludes, all emphasis will be on the team season in the spring, and Ashworth and the players are confident in the team going forward. With three newcomers, two of whom will have major roles on the team, they have meshed really well through the fall tournaments. There is a sense of confidence and positivity building among the Blue Devils about the team going into the spring.
“I’m super optimistic about the people we have on the team. Besides just the tennis, it's a really great group of girls, and we've seen some success this fall, which has been really encouraging,” Coleman said. “Being able to play these tournaments has helped us kind of build that team chemistry that we're looking to carry into the spring. “It's really just the beginning of some bigger things coming.”
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