Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at Kitty Harrison Invitational on September 12, 2025
Women's Tennis
at Kitty Harrison Invitational
Photo by: Duke Athletics
50 Years of Women's Varsity Athletics: Tennis
7/26/2022 12:47:00 PM | Women's Tennis, Athletics
Duke is celebrating 50 years of varsity women's athletics in 2021-22. This is the ninth installment of a year-long GoDuke The Magazine series reflecting on the Blue Devils' 13 women's sports programs. For more from the university, see dukengwsd.com/dukewomens50 or #DukeWomens50 on social media.
When Duke won the NCAA women’s tennis championship in 2009, one of the key figures in the Blue Devil lineup was then-sophomore Ellah Nze. Chosen the ACC rookie of the year the previous season, Nze frequently played in the No. 2 singles slot and teamed with classmate Reka Zsilinszka in doubles for the 2009 champs. Nze helped the ’09 Blue Devils post a 29-3 overall record and 10-1 ACC mark while winning the league’s regular season and tournament titles on their way to an 18-match winning streak and the NCAA crown. Over her four seasons, Nze had a 110-56 singles record, earned All-ACC honors four times and All-American honors twice, and helped her squad net a top 10 national ranking in every poll of her career, including two finishes as the No. 1 team. After getting her master’s degree at Georgetown and working in college athletics at Penn for six years, Nze resides in Philadelphia and serves as director of operations for URL Media.
WOMEN'S TENNIS FILE
» Women’s tennis ranks as one of Duke’s most successful programs, with 18 ACC championships, 11 final fours and the 2009 NCAA title.
» Coach Jane Preyer put Duke tennis on the map during her six-year run (1986-91) as the Blue Devils went 38-4 in the ACC and won four straight league titles.
» Duke was the ACC’s most dominant program from 1988 through 2001 with 14 consecutive ACC Tournament crowns. Duke did not lose a single ACC match during the decade of the 1990s and at one point won 116 league matches in a row.
» Current coach Jamie Ashworth, in 26 years, has won 574 matches with nine ACC titles and nine final fours. He took over as head coach during the middle of the 1997 season and has led his club to every NCAA tourney since.
» Two Blue Devils have won NCAA singles championships, Vanessa Webb in 1998 and Mallory Cecil in 2009.
» Webb is Duke’s all-time winningest player with a 161-25 singles record (.866 winning percentage). She won the Honda Award as national player of the year and was the ACC female athlete of the year.
» Duke has reached the NCAA final four in three of the last four tournaments (2018-19-22).
Let’s start with 2009. After years as a top-10 program and several final fours, the 2009 team broke through for Duke’s first NCAA team tennis title. What still resonates with you about being part of that historic moment?
I just got goosebumps thinking about it. That was a very special year for us. My experience overall at Duke, I considered those girls to be family to me. That team my sophomore year was a very special team to be a part of. We battled a lot of adversity with injuries. If I remember correctly we only had six players that were able to play throughout the season so we had to manage a lot. It was one of those things where we weren’t necessarily focused on the end result. Of course the ultimate goal was to win the national championship, but I really think what set that team apart is that we did the work day-to-day, and it culminated in this great experience.
We had a great regular season, we won the ACC championship, and at NCAAs we knew we had a great shot of winning. But we really focused on the next match, the next match, the next match and it kept building and building. Because we were so close off the court, we really had trust in each other. Tennis is an individual sport but when you are playing with people you are in class with, eat your meals with, are roommates with, these people were more than teammates. I think that made a huge difference because we trusted each other. In the difficult moments we were there to uplift each other, support each other. We just had the trust and belief in each other to propel ourselves to that national championship moment. And when it happened, it was like, “Oh my gosh we did it!” It was incredible. But I think we very much played in the moment and didn’t get ahead of ourselves.
Beyond 2009, what are some of the other highlights from being a part of the Duke program?
Honestly I felt like I grew a lot as a person at Duke. One thing that sticks out to me — I came in with another freshman, Reka Zsilinszka. Both of us had good freshmen years, there were a lot of things I accomplished that year that I’m super proud of. But I look at where I was as a person my freshman year and how I matured by my senior year. So I’m most proud of how I blossomed and matured during my time at Duke. Outside of tennis I’m also grateful for the friendships I had there because those are friendships for life. I believe I was the first African-American to play tennis for Duke so that to me is very special.
Individually and as a team we accomplished a lot on the court. But when you go to Duke — I was recruited to play tennis, but the really special thing about Duke is that they also groom you for life after Duke. That’s probably what I’m most proud of.
Besides 50 years of Duke women’s sports, it’s also the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Did you feel growing up that there were plenty of opportunities for you in sports, possibly created by Title IX, and who were the role models you looked up to as a kid in your sport?
I do think that there were some opportunities for me. I think the USTA has done a great job of providing opportunities for up-and-coming Americans, to provide coaching support and also financial support for kids that are developing. Since I finished my career I’ve seen even more opportunities come up, especially at the grassroots level. I was fortunate that my parents were able to fund my tennis career for the most part, I’m very grateful for that. I do think there are less fortunate kids out there who previously did not have access and opportunity so it’s great to see all the initiatives that are going on locally and nationally for kids in sports.
In terms of people I looked up to, I certainly looked up to Chanda Rubin, Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena are obvious ones. I looked up to people for their game that I wanted to emulate, and also how they carried themselves on the court, represented themselves, so I could mirror that.
I also chose African-American players, so Venus and Serena and Chandra Rubin. Growing up there were several times where I was the only African-American in the draw at local tournaments, national tournaments, international tournaments. There were less than a handful of people who looked like me who were playing. My parents did a great job of making sure I was protected from possible racists comments and situations. They made sure I had to solely focus on tennis and not deal with the external things that come with a sport that back in the day was predominantly white. I’m definitely happy to see more diversity in the tennis community now. I’m grateful for the resources from the USTA and the resources from my parents and also the environment I grew up in and how they raised me and were there for me. I definitely felt like I had a support system.
How about the support system for Duke athletes — do you feel Duke’s a strong place for women’s sports?
Absolutely I do. When I was looking at schools, I pulled up the rankings and saw Duke was a top 5, top 10 program and saw what they had done previously and that’s what attracted me to Duke, the history behind the tennis program. To be a part of that, you can’t even put into words that experience. It’s just super special. Being a part of it, I now have a vested interest in seeing the teams succeed.
I’ve been back to Duke a couple of times since graduating. I felt like I had great resources and the campus was beautiful and the facilities we had were great — and now to go on campus it’s like, “Oh my gosh, it’s unbelievable.” The student-athletes that have an opportunity to go to Duke right now are so lucky. Back in the day I felt like I had a great experience; to continue to see Duke grow and the upgrades they are giving to the student-athletes, it’s amazing.
You want to leave your mark on a university but you also want to see the university continue to succeed, especially with women’s teams...I was so happy to see that Nina King is the new athletic director. She’s very sharp and will continue to lead Duke to new horizons. I can’t wait to see what happens next, with the tennis program and with athletics as a whole.
50 YEARS OF WOMEN'S VARSITY ATHLETICS
“Celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s athletics at Duke is a milestone we should all be proud of. As a university, it is our mission to foster the growth and development of the complete individual and there is no better place to do this than through the fires of competition. Allowing females to strive and push themselves to be the best that they can be, not only in the classroom but in the world of sport, has really made Duke a complete university. The more we as an institution can foster this growth and promote the opportunities that women’s athletics can provide, the better off we will all be. It has been a remarkable journey for me over these past 26 years to see how far we have come as an institution and I am excited to see what is in store for the next generation of female athletes who are dreaming of becoming Duke Blue Devils.”
– Jamie Ashworth, women's tennis head coach
Eleana Yu Post Match vs. Auburn
Saturday, May 10
Jame Ashworth Post Match vs. Auburn
Saturday, May 10
Ellie Coleman Post Match vs. FAU
Saturday, May 03
Jamie Ashworth Post Match vs. FAU
Saturday, May 03
