While students were busy setting up tents in Krzyzewskiville this weekend, Duke women’s tennis kicked off its spring season inside Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. Soaring to a 6-1 victory over James Madison, the Blue Devils got a dominating and confidence-building start to their season.
“They are a good team to start our season with,” head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “It is great to get out and play against different competition. We have been practicing for a little bit here and we were ready to go.”
Duke didn’t waste any time shaking off the dust as it came out swinging to 3-0 leads in all three doubles matches. The Blue Devils only dropped three games total in doubles play; their charge was led by senior Ellie Coleman and freshman Irina Balus, the No. 10 doubles team in the nation, who secured a 6-2 win. Duke has now won 59 of its last 60 matches when it wins the doubles point.
Coleman had missed the last 18 matches of the 2023-24 season due to injury, making her return to play on Saturday afternoon. Despite the absence, Coleman not only cruised through doubles but also to a 6-1, 6-2 singles victory.
“She did a great job today getting that first singles win for us, and in the doubles as well,” Ashworth said. “She's worked hard to get back, and I know she wants to have the best, best senior year she can possibly have, and so we're looking for big things from her on the court, but also from her off the court as well. It's exciting for her to be able to be out there and play.”
While the Blue Devils dominated the doubles competition, courts one and five were engaged in intense singles battles, both of them going into third set tiebreakers. Senior and No. 1 singles player Emma Jackson dropped the first set in her match against Elena Kravela, but managed to fight back in the second.
After regrouping and changing rackets in between sets, Jackson came out and took the first three games in the second set to win it 6-2.
“I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face, and I just said to myself, ‘Restart, there’s no pressure, and it's all for fun,’” Jackson said. “So I really just gave it my best.”
During the third set tiebreaker, Jackson found herself down 5-8 again after three successive points in which the ball hit the top of the net in a weird bounce. Still, after a tiebreaker, she secured her win 10-8.
“She held it together and came back and won that,” Ashworth said. “It's good for [her] confidence to be able to do that.”
Jackson’s singles victory demonstrated the determination and grit of this Blue Devil roster heading into the new season.
Duke’s sole loss of the afternoon came on court five as Katie Codd fell 9-11 in a third set tiebreaker, despite also fighting to win the second set after dropping her first.
The Blue Devils got off to a great start Saturday afternoon, but there are more challenges ahead. Duke will face 10th-ranked Pepperdine Friday before a crucial ITA Kickoff Weekend on January 25th.
“Pepperdine is a huge opportunity for us,” Ashworth said. “We have a great group of girls, a great product to put on the court … looking forward to seeing where this takes us after the first win today.”
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