No. 24 Duke Shuts Out Notre Dame, 4-0, for 19th Straight Home Win

Sunday, March 15

Durham, N.C.

12:00 p.m.

Duke University

Notre Dame

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 24 Duke Shuts Out Notre Dame, 4-0, for 19th Straight Home Win

3/15/2026 7:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis

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DURHAM, N.C. — The 24th-ranked Duke women's tennis team registered a 4-0 victory over 55th-ranked Notre Dame Sunday afternoon at Ambler Tennis Stadium. After securing the doubles point, the Blue Devils carried the momentum into singles play, winning three consecutive matches in straight sets to notch the victory.

Duke sophomore Liv Hovde clinched the match for the third time this season. With the win, the Blue Devils improved to 11-3 overall while Notre Dame fell to 12-6. The Blue Devils remained both undefeated at home (9-0) and in ACC action (5-0).

How It Happened

Sophomore Liv Hovde and junior Shavit Kimchi got the Blue Devils off to a smooth start, jumping out a 3-1 lead on court one before defeating Bianca Molnar and Akari Matsuno, 6-3, in doubles.
On court three, sophomores Irina Balus and Eleana Yu struggled early, falling into a quick five-game deficit, before pulling back and winning three games in a row. It didn't prove enough as they fell, 3-6, tying the doubles competition at one a piece.
Just moments after court three finished, freshmen duo Claire An and Aspen Schuman clinched the doubles point for Duke with a 6-3 win on court two. The teams exchanged games early, with ties at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3, before the Blue Devils surged ahead winning three straight games.
Duke carried this momentum into singles play, winning the first set on five out of six courts.
Schuman was first off the court for the Blue Devils, delivering a strong 6-3, 6-1 victory over Riley Hanford on court three to extend Duke's lead to 2-0. After the score was tied early, 2-2, Schuman won three of the final four games to claim the first set, 6-3, before racing to a 6-1 win in the second.
Thirteenth-ranked Balus followed shortly after on court one. Balus jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set and maintained control throughout, taking the set 6-2. In the second set, Notre Dame's No. 75 ranked Bianca Molnar was able to keep it close, 3-3, before Balus responded by winning three of the next four games to close out the match, 6-3, putting Duke one match away.
On court two, Hovde clinched the contest for Duke after battling through a tight first set. With the score even at 4-4, Hovde broke Akari Matsuno's serve to move ahead 5-4 and eventually secured the set, 7-5, following a key deuce point. In the second set, she won two deuce points after being tied 3-3 to make it 5-3, before eventually clinching the match for Duke with a 6-4 victory.
When the match was decided, three courts remained unfinished.
On court four, Yu had taken early control, winning the first four games of the match. Each of those opening games went to deuce with Yu winning all four before capturing the first set, 6-3. She trailed in the second set, 2-3, when play was halted.
Kimchi dropped the opening set 4-6 on court five, but responded with a strong second-set performance by winning three consecutive games late to go take the set from 3-3 to 6-3.
On court six, An won the first set 6-3 after building a quick 4-1 lead. She held a narrow 5-4 advantage in the second when play stopped, after surrendering a match clinching deuce point at 5-3.

Notes

The Blue Devils won the doubles point for the 10th time this season. They are 8-1 at home in doubles play.
Duke won the first set on 5-6 out of singles courts.
Irina Balus totaled her sixth win in a row and has now won 10 out of her last 11 matches. She now owns a 15-6 overall and 4-0 ACC ledger this season.
Liv Hovde totaled her 11th win on the season in singles and is now 2-0 in ACC play.
Aspen Schuman now owns a 9-2 overall and 5-0 ACC mark on the season.
Duke moved to 27-4 all-time against Notre Dame and 10-0 in at home.
The Blue Devils are now 133-17 all-time at Ambler Tennis Stadium.
Duke is only one victory away from reaching 1,000 wins in program history.

Quotes

"There was a little bit of wind, so just trying to adapt and be patient with myself. Honestly, cheering on my teammates between the points just keeps me motivated and keeps me locked in. I really enjoyed playing today." – Duke freshman Aspen Schuman
"We [Aspen and Irina] haven't known each other a long time, but I feel like we really connected and we have a very similar sense of humor. I feel really connected and we have these inside jokes between points. It brings a good energy and makes me feel very relaxed when I'm having a tough time on the court." – Duke sophomore Irina Balus
"I think we're still trying to find our identity in doubles. We can do certain things in practice, but we need to see ourselves in competition. We were the better team today and the match Friday. I think we have to keep pressing and keep playing no matter what the score is." – Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth

Next Match

The Blue Devils will face second-ranked Ohio State on the road Sunday, March 22 at 12 p.m.

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

#GoDuke

#24 Duke 4, Notre Dame 0
March 15, 2026
Ambler Tennis Stadium * Durham, N.C.

Doubles