Women’s Tennis Set to Host NCAA First & Second Rounds Friday/Saturday in Durham

Friday, May 1

Durham, N.C.

4 p.m.

Duke University

VCU

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Photo by: Duke Athletics

Women’s Tennis Set to Host NCAA First & Second Rounds Friday/Saturday in Durham

4/30/2026 8:05:00 PM | Women's Tennis

NCAA First Round
#19 Tennessee (13-9) vs. #58 Old Dominion (13-5)
Friday, May 1 * 1 p.m.
Durham, N.C. * Ambler Tennis Stadium
Live Scoring l Watch Live l Watch on NCAA CrossCourt Cast

VCU (14-10) at #15 Duke (18-7)
Friday, May 1 * 4 p.m.
Durham, N.C. * Ambler Tennis Stadium
Live Scoring l Watch Live l Watch on NCAA CrossCourt Cast

NCAA Second Round
Saturday, May 2 * 4 p.m.
Winners of Friday's matches
Live Scoring l Watch Live l Watch on NCAA CrossCourt Cast

DURHAM, N.C. – The 15th-seeded Duke women's tennis team is set to kick off the 2026 NCAA Tournament Friday as the 15th-ranked Blue Devils host the first and second rounds at Ambler Tennis Stadium in Durham. Duke will host VCU Friday, May 1 at 4 p.m.

Duke will also host 19th-ranked Tennessee versus 58th-ranked Old Dominion on Friday at 1 p.m. The winning teams of both first-round matches will take the court in the NCAA second round on Saturday, May 2 at 4 p.m.

Duke will provide live scoring and live video for all three matches in Durham this weekend. Cracked Racquets will also provide live coverage via its CrossCourt Cast coverage.

The Blue Devils enter the NCAA Tournament with an 18-7 overall record and are coming off advancing to the semifinals of the ACC Championship. Duke has won six of the last seven matches with five of those six coming against ranked opponents.

Tickets & Parking
Tickets for the NCAA First and Second rounds will be available to purchase online for $6. Seating is general admission and ages 2 & under do not need a ticket. Please note, if tickets are purchased at the gate, a $5 print fee will be added to the order. Duke students can claim their complimentary student ticket via their online ticketing account.

Parking for all fans will be free in the Blue Zone lot.

Duke in the NCAA Championship
In 36 appearances, the Blue Devils have tallied an 84-35 record for a 70.6 winning percentage, advanced to the NCAA Semifinals 11 different times and won the 2009 NCAA Championship. Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth has guided the Blue Devils into the NCAA Tournament each of his 30 seasons at Duke, including nine semifinal trips and the 2009 title. The Blue Devils have advanced to the NCAA semifinals in three out of the last seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

Ashworth owns a record of 72-27 (.727) in the tournament over his tenure at the helm of the program.

Duke's 36-consecutive appearances currently ranks sixth among active streaks nationally – UCLA (44), Stanford (44), Georgia (39), Arizona State (38) and Pepperdine (38).

Over the last eight years, Duke has been a top-8 seed in the NCAA Tournament in five of those seasons (2025 – No. 8, 2023 – No. 6, 2022 – No. 3, 2019 – No. 5, 2018 – No. 3).

The Blue Devils will host the NCAA first and second rounds for the 19th time in school history. Duke features a 36-2 record in Durham during the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils have won 13 out of their last 14 matches at home in the NCAA Tournament.

In NCAA Tournament action, Shavit Kimchi (2-1), Eleana Yu (2-1), Ava Krug (1-0), Katie Codd (1-0), Irina Balus (0-2) and Liv Hovde (0-1) have singles records, while Kimchi (5-1), Hovde (4-0), Yu (3-0), Balus (0-3) and Krug (1-0) have doubles ledgers.

The Series with VCU
Duke and VCU will meet for the ninth time in program history with the Blue Devils leading the series, 7-1. The last time the two squads faced off on the court was Jan. 28, 2023 in Durham with Duke totaling a 4-0 victory. Of the eight meetings, all seven wins have come in Durham. The lone loss came in the NCAA Tournament May 16, 2002 in Palo Alto, California by a 4-3 ledger. Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth is 7-1 over his career against VCU.

Scouting VCU
VCU enters the weekend with a 14-10 overall record and has won five matches in a row. The Commodores are coming off winning three matches in a row to claim the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship with victories over Fordham, Richmond and Saint Louis.

Duke Versus the Atlantic 10 Conference
The Blue Devils own an all-time 17-1 record against Atlantic 10 opponents – Davidson (3-0), Richmond (7-0) and VCU (7-1). Duke has not lost against an Atlantic 10 opponent since the 2001-02 season and currently features an 8-match winning streak.

The Series with Tennessee
Duke and Tennessee have met 21 times in program history with Duke leading the series, 18-3. The Lady Vols totaled a 4-0 victory in the last meeting, which came in the NCAA Tournament second round May 5, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee. In matches played in Durham, Duke is 7-2 with the last loss coming in 1989. Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth is 10-1 all-time over his career against Tennessee.

Scouting Tennessee
Tennessee features a 13-9 overall and 8-7 ledger in the SEC as the Lady Vols enter NCAA action. The Lady Vols are currently ranked No. 19 nationally as a team. In the ITA singles rankings, Katrina Scott (#11), Leyla Britez Risso (#39) and Vanesa Suarez (#87) are listed. Catherine Aulia/Britez Risso are No. 21 in doubles, while Francesca Mattioli/Suarez are No. 38 and Mattioli/Maeve Thornton are No. 63 in doubles as well.

Duke Versus the SEC
The Blue Devils own an all-time 95-83 record against Southeastern Conference opponents — Alabama (3-1), Arkansas (3-0), Auburn (7-1), Florida (5-37), Georgia (15-17), Kentucky (13-5), LSU (2-1), Mississippi (8-2), Mississippi State (2-0), Oklahoma (0-3), South Carolina (19-8), Tennessee (18-3), University of Texas at Austin (14-8), Texas A&M (6-1) and Vanderbilt (3-6).

The Series with Old Dominion
Duke and Old Dominion have faced each other 10 times in program history, with Duke winning all 10 matches. Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth owns a 7-0 record against the Monarchs. The last time the teams faced off was May 7, 2022, when Duke defeated Old Dominion, 4-1, in the NCAA Tournament second round in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils hold a 7-0 record against the Monarchs in matches played in Durham.

Scouting Old Dominion
Old Dominion owns a 13-5 overall record entering the NCAA Tournament. The Monarchs have won four in a row as they claimed their sixth consecutive Sun Belt Conference Championship recently. Old Dominion is ranked No. 58 nationally as a team. In the ITA singles rankings, Kira Matushkina (#100) is listed.

Duke Versus the Sun Belt Conference
The Blue Devils own an all-time 16-0 record against Sun Belt opponents – Appalachian State (1-0), James Madison (3-0), Louisiana-Monroe (1-0), Old Dominion (10-0), and South Alabama (2-0).

What is Next
The winner of each site advances to super-regional competition May 8-9. Each super-regional site will feature two teams playing a single-elimination format. The super-regional winners advance to the NCAA Team Championship at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia, where the eight teams will compete for the national championship May 14-17. The event will be hosted by the University of Georgia.

ITA Rankings
Duke is currently No. 15 nationally in the ITA rankings 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, Irina Balus (#13), Aspen Schuman (#52) and Liv Hovde (#124) are ranked. Duke features three doubles teams as well with Shavit Kimchi/Balus (#50), Hovde/Balus (#54) and Kimchi/Hovde (#55).

Duke Trio Earn All-ACC Honors
The ACC Office released the 2025-26 women's tennis yearly awards with Duke's Irina Balus, Aspen Schuman and Shavit Kimchi earning honors, following a vote from the league head coaches.

In singles, Balus and Schuman were tabbed to the All-ACC First and Third Teams, respectively, and in doubles Kimchi/Balus were selected to the All-ACC Second Team.

It marks the second year in a row Balus has earned All-ACC accolades as she was named to the second team as a rookie last season. Currently listed No. 12 nationally, Balus has logged a 15-3 record this spring and an overall ledger of 20-8 on the year. A product of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, Balus has collected 12 wins against ranked opponents on the season and went 6-2 in ACC singles action.

After arriving in January, Schuman made an immediate impact for the Blue Devils in both singles and doubles play. She has notched a 16-4 singles and 14-5 doubles records, while moving up to No. 47 nationally in the ITA singles ledger. A native of Menlo Park, California, Schuman clinched the last four Duke wins heading into NCAA play and has won nine out of her last 11 matches. She went 10-1 in ACC singles and 8-1 in ACC doubles play.

Duke's double duo of Kimchi and Balus have come on strong down the stretch winning three matches, including two against ranked opponents. They have played together the last three weeks and debuted in the ITA rankings this week at No. 45. Recently, they defeated the eighth-ranked Virginia tandem of Melodie Collard and Vivian Yang in the semifinals of the ACC Championship.

Schuman Collects Four Straight Match-Clinching Wins
Duke freshman Aspen Schuman picked a perfect time for her first match-clinching win against 14th-ranked NC State. The rookie totaled a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2 win over 46th-ranked Gabriella Broadfoot to give Duke its highest ranked win of the season.

Schuman then backed her play up by notching both match-clinching victories against Florida State and Miami. She totaled another ranked win against 105th-ranked Sofia Rocchetti of the Hurricanes. Schuman added another match-clinching win in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship as she defeated 63rd-ranked Rocchetti, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Since joining the squad in January, Schuman has totaled a 16-4 overall and 10-1 ACC ledger in singles. She is 14-5 in doubles play and was 9-1 in ACC action as well. She became just the 10th Duke rookie to collect 10 ACC singles wins. Schuman has clinched each of the last four wins for the Blue Devils.

Various Duke Notes

Duke needs two more wins to reach 20 victories for the 29th time in program history. Head coach Jamie Ashworth would mark his 21st time he has notched 20 or more wins as the head coach.
With Duke finishing 10-2 in the ACC, the Blue Devils reached 10 ACC wins for the 13th time out of the last 16 years.
Freshman Claire An registered both match-clinching wins against Boston College and Syracuse. They were the first two match-clinching victories of her career. An added another clinching match against Georgia Tech as well. She also notched her first win against a ranked singles opponent April 1 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 111 Anna Frey of North Carolina. An has totaled a 13-8 overall and 6-1 ACC mark.
Irina Balus (20), Liv Hovde (14), Claire An (13), Aspen Schuman (16), Shavit Kimchi (11) and Eleana Yu (10) lead Duke with double-digit singles wins on the season.
Shavit Kimchi owns 12 match-clinching wins in her career which ranks tied for 12th on Duke's all-time charts (Stats only available from 2005-06 to present).
Kimchi collected her 50th career doubles win and 16th ACC win of her college career to conclude the regular season.
In just two seasons, Liv Hovde has totaled a 42-10 overall, 33-8 dual match and 20-2 ACC record in doubles play.
Schuman and Hovde have teamed together recently in doubles and have logged an 8-1 overall and 6-0 ACC mark playing the No. 2 and No. 3 slot. They totaled their first win against a ranked opponent defeating 90th-ranked Neilson-Gatenby/Cisovska of Clemson. The duo won their first eight matches together before falling to Virginia in the ACC semifinals.
Duke sophomore Irina Balus registered a win over Texas' second-ranked Carmen Andreea Herea, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4, in the National Team Indoors. It marked the highest ranked win of her collegiate career. Balus has totaled 12 wins against ranked opponents in 2025-26 and 23 at Duke.

Freshmen Impact
Claire An and Aspen Schuman have combined to open their collegiate careers with a 25-9 dual match record and 29-12 overall ledger. They went 16-2 in ACC action.

Duke Reaches 1,000 Wins as a Program
Duke registered its 1,000th victory as a program Sunday, March 29 as the Blue Devils posted a 4-0 victory over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Blue Devils currently feature a 1002-308 ledger over the 49 years of the program. In NCAA history, Duke became the fourth program to collect 1,000 wins – Stanford, Florida and Georgia.

Doubles Team Nets Honor
The Duke tandem of Liv Hovde and Shavit Kimchi were named the ACC Doubles Team of the Week on Feb. 10, following the National Team Indoors.

Hovde and Kimchi collected a 2-1 record at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Indoors at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana, Illinois. The duo registered their first two ranked wins as the Blue Devils defeated Ohio State's 13th-ranked Hephzibah Oluwadare and Teah Chavez, 7-6 (7-2), and also knocked off 59th-ranked Tess Bucher and Alice Xu, 7-6 (7-3).

Hovde and Kimchi also advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Doubles Championship in the fall.

Balus Earns PNC Achievers Award
Duke women's tennis sophomore Irina Balus and fencing junior Dayaal Singh were named PNC Achievers of the Year for the 2024-25 campaign and were recognized at the Duke men's basketball game Feb. 14.

Since arriving on campus, Balus has made an immediate impact on the Duke women's tennis team. She is coming off a 2025 campaign where she earned ITA All-America honors, received as high as a No. 8 national ranking in singles and No. 8 in doubles and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship. Balus, a native of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, helped lead Duke to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Team Championship this past May.

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.

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.

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).

The Head Coach
Head coach Jamie Ashworth is in his 30th season with the Blue Devils and owns an impressive 654-168 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 – Lin Loring (846), Jeff Wallace (818), Brian Kalbas (797), Jay Louderback (703), Geoff MacDonald (631), Gualberto Escudero (631) and Jamie Ashworth (636) (wins entering the 2026 season).

Among the winningest coaches of all time, Ashworth ranks 10th with a 79.5 winning percentage, sixth with 654 wins, third for winningest active coaches by percentage (79.5) and second for winningest active coaches by victories (654).

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.

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