On a warm fall day in Waco, Texas, senior Ellie Coleman and freshman Irina Balus stepped onto the court at the Hurd Tennis Center for the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship. The duo had made it the farthest out of any Duke women’s double’s team in six years and remained the only players left in the singles or doubles section of the tournament. Their opponents were Alicia Dudeney and Rachel Gailis of Florida — a tough duo, especially considering that Gailis was ranked No. 7 in singles play coming into the preseason.
Although Coleman and Balus dropped two sets, 6-4, 6-1 to the Gators, this tournament was a product of hard-earned work and success from the Blue Devil squad. Senior Emma Jackson reached the round of 32 of singles play in her second appearance in the tournament. Stanford transfer Eleana Yu and sophomore Shavit Kimchi fell alongside Balus in the first round of play.
“It was a good experience for everybody,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “It was new, with an individual tournament in the fall, and I'm proud of the effort that we put in to get there to put on a decent showing.”
Each member of the squad had a unique journey to the tournament. The 2024-25 season is the first time that the NCAA Singles Championship was held in the fall; previously, it was held in the spring alongside the team NCAA Championship. As a result, the stakes were higher than usual early in the season, as each Duke player fought for a place in the bracket.
However, with the team’s focus on the spring season and team tournament, the fall season helped each Blue Devil grow and learn, especially the freshmen.
“When we put ourselves in big moments, we have to stay true to what we're trying to do, and true to how we play,” Ashworth said. “We can't think about the outcome … ‘What if I win this match? What if I win this game? What if I win this set?’”
Balus had secured her spot in the tournament barely a week prior to its start. At the ITA Sectionals Nov. 11, the Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, native powered her way to a spot in both the singles and doubles side of the tournament. Although Balus was defeated 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of singles, she shone in the doubles round. Coleman and Balus have proved themself to be a formidable duo, despite their age gap.
The freshman-senior tandem opened the second day of the tournament strongly. After all but Jackson of the Blue Devil squad fell in the first round of the singles tournament — including Balus — the pressure was on for Duke.
As Balus and Coleman traded rallies with the 23rd-ranked pair of Eliza Tomase and Catherin Aulia of Tennessee, the Volunteers and the Blue Devils were neck and neck for most of the match. However, Coleman and Balus emerged with a 5-7, 6-4 tiebreaker victory to mark the beginning of a formidable doubles run.
“They lost the first set that they played against Tennessee, but they had some set points,” Ashworth said. “Being able to come back off of that little bit of a disappointment and take the momentum away from a good team motivated them the rest of throughout the tournament.”
On the singles side of play, Jackson stepped up to the service line to keep the Blue Devils in the bracket. The La Grange Park, Ill., native had notched a 6-3, 7-6 victory against Oklahoma’s Alina Shcherbinina the day prior in the round of 64, winning her first three service games at the opening of the match.
However, Shcherbinina came back in the second set, holding Jackson to a close game. The two traded the advantage back and forth until the set was evened at 6-6. Jackson pulled through in the tiebreaker for a 7-3 victory and Jackson’s first career victory in the NCAA Singles Championship.
Jackson then faced 12th-ranked Julia Fliegner of Michigan. She kept up the energy from the previous day by winning the opening game, then came back into the lead after Fliegner won three straight games. However, Fliegner clinched the win 6-3 for the first set, and never trailed to Jackson for a decisive win in the second set of 6-3, ending Duke’s run in the singles tournament.
“I think that we need to do a better job, after we've gotten into the tournament, making sure that we're prepared to play the term, and we can't just be satisfied getting into it,” Ashworth said.
As the lone Blue Devils left in the tournament, Balus and Coleman represented the Blue Devil spirit in the second round of play. Facing 20th-ranked Lily Fairclough and Grace Piper of USC, the duo never once trailed to the Trojans. Balus and Coleman kept a tight lead over Fairclough and Piper, and took the game winning set without dropping a point.
The Duke team ended the day with a 7-5, 6-3 victory to become the 11th doubles team in program history to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament. The tandem’s historic run ended the next day, though, with a loss to Florida.
The Blue Devils look to resume team play in the spring with their eyes on the NCAA Team Tournament.
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