Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis versus NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship on November 18, 2025
Women's Tennis
vs NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship
Photo by: Bri Shaw, Duke Athletics
Duke Trio Advances at NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship
11/19/2025 8:36:00 PM | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – Day two of the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship was a successful one for the Duke women's tennis team as Irina Balus advanced in singles, while Liv Hovde and Shavit Kimchi opened play in the doubles competition with a victory at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus in Orlando.
A native of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, Balus faced 68th-ranked Reece Carter of Washington in the second round. In the first set, Carter came out strong and won the first seven points and went ahead, 2-0. Balus came back and won three games in a row to take a 3-2 lead. This included a key break by Balus to stop Carter's strong start. After Carter evened the ledger, 3-3, Balus broke Carter again and then won a key deuce point to take a 5-3 lead. Balus eventually won the first set, 6-4.
Balus had a solid start to the second set and opened with a 4-2 edge with two breaks. Carter didn't quit though, as she won a deuce point to cut the lead to 4-3 before rallying to take the second set, 6-4.
In the final set, 14th-ranked Balus broke Carter to open action and went ahead, 2-0. Carter won a game to make the score, 2-1, but Balus won the next four games to win the match, 6-1, and advance to the round of 16.
Balus will next go up against 103rd-ranked Kyoka Kubo of Kansas at 12 p.m., Thursday.
In their NCAA Doubles Championship debut, Hovde and Kimchi faced Elle Warren and Lillie Murphy of Furman in the round of 32. Warren and Murphy came out and won the first set, 6-3, but the Blue Devils rebounded in the second with a 6-4 triumph. In a third-set tiebreaker, Hovde and Kimchi were dominant as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back, winning the match with a 10-3 ledger and moving into the round of 16.
Hovde and Kimchi will next battle fourth-seeded and 12th-ranked Sophia Webster and Celia-Belle Mohr of Vanderbilt Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke
A native of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, Balus faced 68th-ranked Reece Carter of Washington in the second round. In the first set, Carter came out strong and won the first seven points and went ahead, 2-0. Balus came back and won three games in a row to take a 3-2 lead. This included a key break by Balus to stop Carter's strong start. After Carter evened the ledger, 3-3, Balus broke Carter again and then won a key deuce point to take a 5-3 lead. Balus eventually won the first set, 6-4.
Balus had a solid start to the second set and opened with a 4-2 edge with two breaks. Carter didn't quit though, as she won a deuce point to cut the lead to 4-3 before rallying to take the second set, 6-4.
In the final set, 14th-ranked Balus broke Carter to open action and went ahead, 2-0. Carter won a game to make the score, 2-1, but Balus won the next four games to win the match, 6-1, and advance to the round of 16.
Balus will next go up against 103rd-ranked Kyoka Kubo of Kansas at 12 p.m., Thursday.
In their NCAA Doubles Championship debut, Hovde and Kimchi faced Elle Warren and Lillie Murphy of Furman in the round of 32. Warren and Murphy came out and won the first set, 6-3, but the Blue Devils rebounded in the second with a 6-4 triumph. In a third-set tiebreaker, Hovde and Kimchi were dominant as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back, winning the match with a 10-3 ledger and moving into the round of 16.
Hovde and Kimchi will next battle fourth-seeded and 12th-ranked Sophia Webster and Celia-Belle Mohr of Vanderbilt Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke
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Jame Ashworth Post Match vs. Auburn
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Ellie Coleman Post Match vs. FAU
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Jamie Ashworth Post Match vs. FAU
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