Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at Kitty Harrison Invitational on September 12, 2025
Women's Tennis
at Kitty Harrison Invitational
Capra and Goldfeld Travel to ITA Indoors
11/2/2011 1:12:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. - Two members of Duke's talented freshman class will compete in this weekend's ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. Beatrice Capra will compete in the singles main draw, and will team up with Ester Goldfeld in the doubles main draw. All matches will be played at the USTA's Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
Capra earned an automatic bid into the singles main draw after advancing to the quarterfinals in the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships. The Ellicott City, Md. native defeated seventh-ranked Nicole Gibbs of Stanford and 16th-ranked Danielle Lao of Southern California before falling to the No. 2 player in the nation in Allie Will from the University of Florida. The newcomer will take on the University of Texas' Aeriel Ellis in Thursday's opening round. Ellis is currently ranked No. 14.
"This is only her second college tournament," said head coach Jamie Ashworth. "She hasn't played a lot of singles matches, but hopefully she can build on her performance [at All-Americans]. If someone is going to beat her, then it's going to a take a pretty good effort on their part because she doesn't beat herself."
Goldfeld and Capra earned a bid into the doubles main draw after reaching the finals at the ITA Carolinas Regional. The duo defeated Wake Forest's seventh-ranked pair of Kayla Duncan and Kathryn Talbert, 9-7, in the semifinals before falling to top-ranked Josipa Bek and Keri Wong by an 8-5 margin in the finals.
"They had a really good regional tournament getting to the finals, and they got better as the tournament went on," said Ashworth. "That was their second tournament playing together, and they improved from their first tournament together [at ITA All-Americans]. It's another opportunity to establish themselves as one of the top doubles teams in the country. It's comforting to know when you go into a dual match in February and March that you have a doubles team that can play with anyone in the country."
The duo received a first round bye into Thursday's round of 16 in the doubles draw, and awaits the winner of Oklahoma's Whitney Ritchie and Marie-Pier Huet and Maryland's Ana Belzunca and Welma Luus. Goldfeld and Capra own a 9-2 record this fall.
Five other Duke players will compete in this weekend's Kitty Harrison Invitational. Teams participating in the event include ACC rivals Virginia, North Carolina and N.C. State, as well as non-conference opponents Marshall, Furman, Princeton, UNC Greensboro, Minnesota and Texas A&M.
Duke will begin the tournament with an indoor doubles match against Marshall at 9 a.m. on Friday. The Blue Devils will finish the day with singles matches at 10:30 a.m. against Virginia, followed by another singles bout with Furman at 2:30 p.m.
All matches will be played in the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. In the event of inclement weather, matches will also be played in the Sheffield Tennis Center at Duke.
"This tournament is always fun to end our fall season," commented Ashworth. "It gives us a chance to play in a team format, which two of our freshman playing this weekend haven't been able to do yet. It gives them a feel of what a dual match is like once January comes."
In his 16th year as the head coach, Ashworth understands the importance of leadership, and hopes to see some of it this weekend.
"I'm looking for a lot of things away from the court, also, with teammates supporting one another. Mary Clayton and Monica Gorny are both in their third year here, and I would love for them to take the lead in team support this weekend."
-d-u-k-e-
Players Mentioned
PLAYER
/ Women's Tennis
PLAYER
/ Women's Tennis
PLAYER
/ Women's Tennis
PLAYER
/ Women's TennisEleana 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
