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Duke University
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ITA All-American Championship
Photo by: Intercollegiate Tennis Association
Xu Finishes Runner-Up at ITA All-American; Three Blue Devils Earn NCAA Singles Invites
9/27/2026 1:50:00 PM | Women's Tennis
CARY, N.C. – The Duke women's tennis team wrapped up play at the 2026 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Championship Sunday at the Cary Tennis Park and the Blue Devils turned in one of the most successful appearances in program history at the event.
Duke freshman Mimi Xu advanced to the singles final, three Blue Devils advanced to the singles quarterfinals and three Duke student-athletes earned NCAA singles invitations during the week. The Blue Devils collected 12 victories against ranked singles opponents, including wins over the No. 2, No. 12 and No. 14 players nationally.
"Obviously, with the success led by Mimi getting to the finals and then Irina and Aspen in the quarters and qualifying for the NCAAs, it was definitely a step in the right direction for our program and how we want to be viewed and what our fall season needs to look like," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth.
In the championship match, Xu dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision to third-ranked Lucianna Perry of Ohio State. Xu, a product of Swansea, United Kingdom, was in a battle in the championship match. She dropped the first game, but won the second to even the score, 1-1. She dropped a deuce point to fall behind, 2-1, but won the next deuce point to tie the match, 2-2. Perry won the next four points to take the first set, 6-2. In the second, Xu dropped three consecutive deuce points to fall behind 3-0. She went on to fall, 6-1, to end her run.
Xu opened her Duke career with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 30 Gabia Paskauskas of Florida in the main draw round of 64. She then knocked off the No. 2 player in the nation, Andrea Carmen Herea of Texas, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Xu earned her quarterfinal win with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Nicole Khirin of North Carolina. Later that afternoon, Xu totaled a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 win against 12th-ranked Amelie Van Impe of SMU to move into the semifinals.
With a 6-1, 7-5 win Saturday in the semifinals versus No. 39 Nao Nishino of Ohio State, Xu moved into the championship match. It marked the first time since 2021 that a freshman has advanced to the finals. Xu was the first Duke freshman to advance to the finals since Maria Mateas in 2018.
"It is something she should be proud of," said Ashworth on Xu's run to the finals. "I think she learned a lot this week about college tennis and the grind that it takes to do well on the collegiate level. Obviously, she's had some success in junior tennis and success on the pro tour, but college is a different animal, and there's a lot that goes into that. I thought she handled herself well. She played composed all week. She ran into a tough college competitor today in Luciana (Perry), who's played a lot of matches and has been a great player for Ohio State. But I feel like there's a lot to build on for Mimi for the week. She won matches in in different ways throughout the week, which was good to see. Not just in one way."
Friday was a big day for the Blue Devils at the All-American as the trio of Xu, sophomore Aspen Schuman and junior Irina Balus punched their tickets to the NCAA Singles Championship as all three advanced to the quarterfinals.
"Yeah, hopefully it makes the rest of our team hungry to compete well at the upcoming events," said Ashworth on the NCAA qualifiers. "To have three get through here was huge for us. Our next opportunity will be with our regionals. Our regional is so tough with the way that they do the selection. The winner and the runner-up qualify out of that and there's so many good players in our region across both North and South Carolina. So, for us to get that first kind of grab at the NCAA Tournament was I think a big thing for everyone."
It marked the first time in program history that Duke had registered three players advance to the quarterfinals. The Blue Devils had two advance to the quarters in 1991, 2001, 2002 and 2018.
Balus, a native of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, opened action Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Florida's Capucine Jauffret in the round of 64. She then collected a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 50 Reese Miller of Michigan to move into the round of 16. Balus battled 23rd-ranked Kaitlyn Carnicella of South Carolina in a three-set thriller and came out on top with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory to receive the NCAA invite. It will mark the third year in a row that Balus has competed in the NCAA Singles Championship.
In her first appearance in the ITA All-American, Schuman turned in an impressive run as she defeated 14th-ranked Valeria Ray of Vanderbilt in her opening match. Schuman, who is from Menlo Park, California, next notched a 6-4, 6-4 win over 48th-ranked Katie Rolls of Virginia. In the round of 16, Schuman collected a 6-4, 6-4 win against No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev of Ohio State to earn her first NCAA invite.
Both Balus and Schuman retired due to injury in the quarterfinals.
Junior Liv Hovde dropped her round of 64 singles match in the main draw, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 4-6, to Georgia's 54th-ranked Emma Dong, but came back to collect a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 46 Bianca Molnar of Notre Dame in the consolation bracket. Her run came to an end as she fell, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, to No. 16 Anastasiia Grechkina of Pepperdine.
Junior Ava Krug turned in an impressive showing, winning four matches to advance to the qualifying stage. A product of Tampa, Florida, Krug opened with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Martaa Chogsomjav of Kansas State and then registered a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Zimora McKnight of North Texas. In her second match of the day, Krug then collected a 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 win against Elena Mireles of SMU to move into the qualifying stage.
Krug collected her first career victory against a ranked opponent as she knocked off No. 108 Zoie Epps of Oklahoma. Her run came to an end in the qualifying round of 32 as Krug dropped a 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 decision to No. 119 Tianmei Wang.
In the prequalifying stage, senior Shavit Kimchi posted a 6-4, 6-1 win versus Kimiko Cooper of Illinois and then fell, 6-1, 6-3, to Boise State's Allison Isaacs. Senior Eleana Yu dropped a 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 match to UC Santa Barbara's Marianne Angel.
Duke sophomore Claire An and freshman Nina Vargova opened their action in the qualifying stage and both registered round of 64 singles victories. An defeated Chantal Sauvant of Pepperdine, 6-2, 6-2, and then dropped a 6-4, 3-6, 1-6 match to No. 115 Audrey Spencer of Ohio State. Vargova opened her Duke career with a 6-2, 6-0 win against No. 123 Katerina Shabashkevich of Stanford, 6-2, 6-0, but then was forced to withdraw because of illness.
In doubles play, An and Yu dropped a 4-6, 6-7 (6-8) match against Maryland's Diya Challa and Emma Ghirardato in prequalifying. In main draw competition, Duke's 18th-ranked Schuman and Hovde defeated Hannah Read and Vilma Krebs Hysllested of San Diego, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
"Obviously, we didn't do a great job with doubles this week," said Ashworth. "Whether retiring in matches, not playing matches, we have to give our doubles the same opportunity as we're giving our singles if we want to be the team that we want to be later on."
Duke has featured three players who have won singles titles at the ITA All-American Championship, with Vanessa Webb (1996), Ansley Cargill (2000) and Kelly McCain (2002) winning championships.
The Blue Devils will return to the court Oct. 1-4 at the Battle of the Bay in San Francisco, California.
#GoDuke
Duke freshman Mimi Xu advanced to the singles final, three Blue Devils advanced to the singles quarterfinals and three Duke student-athletes earned NCAA singles invitations during the week. The Blue Devils collected 12 victories against ranked singles opponents, including wins over the No. 2, No. 12 and No. 14 players nationally.
"Obviously, with the success led by Mimi getting to the finals and then Irina and Aspen in the quarters and qualifying for the NCAAs, it was definitely a step in the right direction for our program and how we want to be viewed and what our fall season needs to look like," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth.
In the championship match, Xu dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision to third-ranked Lucianna Perry of Ohio State. Xu, a product of Swansea, United Kingdom, was in a battle in the championship match. She dropped the first game, but won the second to even the score, 1-1. She dropped a deuce point to fall behind, 2-1, but won the next deuce point to tie the match, 2-2. Perry won the next four points to take the first set, 6-2. In the second, Xu dropped three consecutive deuce points to fall behind 3-0. She went on to fall, 6-1, to end her run.
Xu opened her Duke career with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 30 Gabia Paskauskas of Florida in the main draw round of 64. She then knocked off the No. 2 player in the nation, Andrea Carmen Herea of Texas, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Xu earned her quarterfinal win with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Nicole Khirin of North Carolina. Later that afternoon, Xu totaled a 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 win against 12th-ranked Amelie Van Impe of SMU to move into the semifinals.
With a 6-1, 7-5 win Saturday in the semifinals versus No. 39 Nao Nishino of Ohio State, Xu moved into the championship match. It marked the first time since 2021 that a freshman has advanced to the finals. Xu was the first Duke freshman to advance to the finals since Maria Mateas in 2018.
"It is something she should be proud of," said Ashworth on Xu's run to the finals. "I think she learned a lot this week about college tennis and the grind that it takes to do well on the collegiate level. Obviously, she's had some success in junior tennis and success on the pro tour, but college is a different animal, and there's a lot that goes into that. I thought she handled herself well. She played composed all week. She ran into a tough college competitor today in Luciana (Perry), who's played a lot of matches and has been a great player for Ohio State. But I feel like there's a lot to build on for Mimi for the week. She won matches in in different ways throughout the week, which was good to see. Not just in one way."
Friday was a big day for the Blue Devils at the All-American as the trio of Xu, sophomore Aspen Schuman and junior Irina Balus punched their tickets to the NCAA Singles Championship as all three advanced to the quarterfinals.
"Yeah, hopefully it makes the rest of our team hungry to compete well at the upcoming events," said Ashworth on the NCAA qualifiers. "To have three get through here was huge for us. Our next opportunity will be with our regionals. Our regional is so tough with the way that they do the selection. The winner and the runner-up qualify out of that and there's so many good players in our region across both North and South Carolina. So, for us to get that first kind of grab at the NCAA Tournament was I think a big thing for everyone."
It marked the first time in program history that Duke had registered three players advance to the quarterfinals. The Blue Devils had two advance to the quarters in 1991, 2001, 2002 and 2018.
Balus, a native of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, opened action Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Florida's Capucine Jauffret in the round of 64. She then collected a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 50 Reese Miller of Michigan to move into the round of 16. Balus battled 23rd-ranked Kaitlyn Carnicella of South Carolina in a three-set thriller and came out on top with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory to receive the NCAA invite. It will mark the third year in a row that Balus has competed in the NCAA Singles Championship.
In her first appearance in the ITA All-American, Schuman turned in an impressive run as she defeated 14th-ranked Valeria Ray of Vanderbilt in her opening match. Schuman, who is from Menlo Park, California, next notched a 6-4, 6-4 win over 48th-ranked Katie Rolls of Virginia. In the round of 16, Schuman collected a 6-4, 6-4 win against No. 37 Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev of Ohio State to earn her first NCAA invite.
Both Balus and Schuman retired due to injury in the quarterfinals.
Junior Liv Hovde dropped her round of 64 singles match in the main draw, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 4-6, to Georgia's 54th-ranked Emma Dong, but came back to collect a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 46 Bianca Molnar of Notre Dame in the consolation bracket. Her run came to an end as she fell, 6-2, 4-6, 1-6, to No. 16 Anastasiia Grechkina of Pepperdine.
Junior Ava Krug turned in an impressive showing, winning four matches to advance to the qualifying stage. A product of Tampa, Florida, Krug opened with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Martaa Chogsomjav of Kansas State and then registered a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Zimora McKnight of North Texas. In her second match of the day, Krug then collected a 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 win against Elena Mireles of SMU to move into the qualifying stage.
Krug collected her first career victory against a ranked opponent as she knocked off No. 108 Zoie Epps of Oklahoma. Her run came to an end in the qualifying round of 32 as Krug dropped a 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 decision to No. 119 Tianmei Wang.
In the prequalifying stage, senior Shavit Kimchi posted a 6-4, 6-1 win versus Kimiko Cooper of Illinois and then fell, 6-1, 6-3, to Boise State's Allison Isaacs. Senior Eleana Yu dropped a 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 match to UC Santa Barbara's Marianne Angel.
Duke sophomore Claire An and freshman Nina Vargova opened their action in the qualifying stage and both registered round of 64 singles victories. An defeated Chantal Sauvant of Pepperdine, 6-2, 6-2, and then dropped a 6-4, 3-6, 1-6 match to No. 115 Audrey Spencer of Ohio State. Vargova opened her Duke career with a 6-2, 6-0 win against No. 123 Katerina Shabashkevich of Stanford, 6-2, 6-0, but then was forced to withdraw because of illness.
In doubles play, An and Yu dropped a 4-6, 6-7 (6-8) match against Maryland's Diya Challa and Emma Ghirardato in prequalifying. In main draw competition, Duke's 18th-ranked Schuman and Hovde defeated Hannah Read and Vilma Krebs Hysllested of San Diego, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
"Obviously, we didn't do a great job with doubles this week," said Ashworth. "Whether retiring in matches, not playing matches, we have to give our doubles the same opportunity as we're giving our singles if we want to be the team that we want to be later on."
Duke has featured three players who have won singles titles at the ITA All-American Championship, with Vanessa Webb (1996), Ansley Cargill (2000) and Kelly McCain (2002) winning championships.
The Blue Devils will return to the court Oct. 1-4 at the Battle of the Bay in San Francisco, California.
#GoDuke
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