Schedule Changes as Blue Devils Set to Host ITA Kickoff Weekend

Miami (1-0) vs. South Carolina (2-0)
Friday, Jan. 23 * 1:00 p.m.
Durham, N.C. * Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center
Live Scoring l Watch Live

Miami/South Carolina Winner at #8 Duke (2-0)
Saturday, Jan. 24 * 11 a.m.
Durham, N.C. * Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center
Live Scoring l Watch Live

DURHAM, N.C. – After opening the regular season this past weekend with a pair of victories, the eighth-ranked Duke women's tennis team is set to host the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kickoff Weekend Jan. 23-24 with Miami and South Carolina competing inside Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

Due to the threat of inclement weather, the schedule for the weekend has been adjusted to Friday and Saturday. Also, Florida Atlantic has dropped out of the competition.

South Carolina and Miami will face each other Friday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m., and then the winner will battle Duke Saturday, Jan. 24 at 11 a.m., for the chance to advance to the National Team Indoors Feb. 6-9.

The Blue Devils are currently riding a 12-match home winning streak heading into action this weekend. Admission is free and parking will be available in the blue zone lot adjacent to the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

The Series with Miami
Duke and Miami will meet for the 37th time in program history with the Blue Devils leading the series with a 22-14 ledger. In matches played in Durham, Duke owns a 9-3 record with seven wins in a row. Blue Devil head coach Jamie Ashworth owns a 17-11 ledger against Miami.

Scouting Miami
Miami owns a 1-0 record on the season with a season-opening victory over FGCU this past Wednesday. The Hurricanes feature two ranked singles players – Raquel Gonzalez (#100) and Sebastianna Scilipoti (#101).

The Series with South Carolina
Duke and South Carolina have faced each other a total of 27 times with the Blue Devils leading the series, 19-8. In matches played in Durham, Duke owns a -3 record with nine wins a row. Overall, the Blue Devils have won 10 matches in a row against the Gamecocks. Last season, Duke and South Carolina met in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia with Duke posting a 4-1 win. Irina Balus and Katie Codd earned singles wins a season ago versus South Carolina. Blue Devil head coach Jamie Ashworth owns a 9-0 record against the Gamecocks.

Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina has a 2-0 ledger on the season with wins versus Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina. The Gamecocks feature Kaitlyn Carnicella (#54), Daniela Piani (#108) and Anna Bella Bianca Bergqvist Larsson (#121) ranked in singles. In doubles action, Carnicella/Larsson (#8), Lauren Friedman/Helena Buchwald (#44) and Freidman/Sara Borkop (#63) are listed.

Duke Versus the SEC
The Blue Devils hold a 59-42 record against the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Duke in the ITA Kickoff
The Blue Devils feature a 28-4 ledger in action in the ITA Kickoff Weekend over the history of the program. The four losses came in 2021 (Georgia Tech), 2022 (Oklahoma), 2024 (Auburn) in Durham and 2025 (Virginia) in Charlottesville, Virginia. Duke has never faced Miami in the ITA Kickoff, while defeating South Carolina a season ago, 4-1.

Duke will be looking to advance to the ITA National Team Indoors for the 32nd time in school history and the first time since 2023. The Blue Devils won the event in 2003 and 2014.

What is Next
The Blue Devils will remain at home for a pair of non-conference contests against Kentucky (Jan. 30) and James Madison (Feb. 1). Both matches will be played inside Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.

ITA Rankings
Duke remained ranked No. 8 nationally in the ITA rankings this week as a team.

Head coach Jamie Ashworth has guided Duke to 21 top-10 preseason rankings in his 30 seasons as the head coach of the Blue Devils. Duke has been in the preseason top-16 nationally in each of the last 30 years under Ashworth.

In singles play, Irinia Balus (#22), Eleana Yu (#87), Shavit Kimchi (#93) and Liv Hovde (#98) were ranked. Duke featured three doubles teams as well with Kimchi/Hovde (#14), Hovde/Balus (#22) and Yu/Claire An (#32).

Blue Devils Add Aspen Schuman for Dual Match Action
In November, Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth announced the signing of Aspen Schuman. A native of Menlo Park, California, Schuman joined the Blue Devils in January and will compete this spring.

Schuman has an Intercollegiate Tennis Federation (ITF) career high ranking of No. 31 and a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) career-best ranking of No. 931. In the Tennis Recruiting Network rankings, Schuman is listed No. 4 nationally and she has been listed as high as No. 1 in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Girls' 18s national rankings. A six-time Junior Grand Slam main draw competitor, Schuman has won five ITF junior singles titles and is a two-time ITF W15 Tournament finalist.

Home Court Advantage
Since the 2000-01 season, Duke has collected a 275-27 record at home. Inside Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center, the Blue Devils have totaled a 45-10 ledger since opening its doors in 2000-01. Over the last 10 years, Duke owns a 68-3 record inside Sheffield. The Blue Devils currently feature a 12-match home winning streak.

Balus Earns All-America Accolades Once Again
For the second year in a row, Duke sophomore Irina Balus has earned All-America honors as she advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship in the fall.

Balus became just the fourth Blue Devil to earn All-America accolades in each of their first two seasons in Durham – Amanda Johnson (2001, 2002), Kelly McCain (2002, 2023) and Vanessa Webb (1996, 1997).

Balus won five out of her final seven matches to conclude the fall and owns a career singles mark of 24-16.

The Head Coach
Head coach Jamie Ashworth is in his 30th season with the Blue Devils and owns an impressive 638-162 ledger. In 2024, Ashworth registered his 600th victory on Jan. 20 in a 4-2 win over Illinois. He accomplished this mark in only 747 matches, becoming the quickest coach to 600 wins.

Quickest to 600 Wins – 747 matches by Jamie Ashworth (Duke), 749 by Jeff Wallace (Georgia), 779 by Brian Kalbas (William & Mary/North Carolina), and 785 by Lin Loring (UC Santa Barbara/Indiana).

Ashworth became the seventh NCAA Division I coach to reach the 600-win ledger – Loring (846), Wallace (818), Kalbas (797), Jay Louderback (703), Geoff MacDonald (631), Gualberto Escudero (631) and Ashworth (636) (wins are entering the 2026 season).

Among the winningest coaches of all time, Ashworth ranks 10th with a 79.9 winning percentage, sixth with 638 wins, third for winningest active coaches by percentage (79.9) and second for winningest active coaches by victories (638).

Big Sets for Little Hearts
The Duke men's and women's tennis programs announced a partnership with the Duke Children's Hospital Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center called Big Sets for Little Hearts in the fall of 2024.

Big Sets for Little Hearts pledges will be made based on the number of sets won by the men's and women's tennis programs.

If you are interested in supporting Blue Devil tennis' partnership with Duke Children's, you can pledge for each set won during the season or make a one-time donation. Pledges start at $0.10, $0.50, $1.00 and $2.50. Based on last year's results, the smallest pledged donation would be equal to $64.70. For more information or to donate, click here.

The Duke Children's Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center is the No. 2 ranked pediatric cardiology and heart surgery program in the United States for newborns and children with congenital and acquired heart disease. The Duke Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center strives to improve their patients' outcomes and the quality of their lives.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWTEN".

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Schedule Changes as Blue Devils Set to Host ITA Kickoff Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Claire An

Irina Balus

Katie Codd

Liv Hovde

Shavit Kimchi

Aspen Schuman

Eleana Yu

Duke information

Schedule Changes as Blue Devils Set to Host ITA Kickoff Weekend

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Claire An

Irina Balus

Katie Codd

Liv Hovde

Shavit Kimchi

Aspen Schuman

Eleana Yu

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Duke information