{"id":531814,"date":"2026-03-12T16:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T16:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/531814\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T16:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T16:57:08","slug":"womens-tennis-returns-to-action-hosting-louisville-notre-dame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/531814\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Tennis Returns to Action Hosting Louisville & Notre Dame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Louisville (9-4, 1-4 ACC) at #24 Duke (9-3, 3-0 ACC)
\nFriday, March 13\u00a0 *\u00a0 5 p.m.
\nDurham, N.C.\u00a0 *\u00a0 Ambler Tennis Stadium
\nLive Scoring <\/a>\u00a0l\u00a0 Watch Live<\/a>\u00a0l\u00a0 Watch ACC CrossCourt Cast \u00a0<\/a>l\u00a0 Digital Program<\/a>
\n\u00a0
\n#55 Notre Dame 12-4, 2-3 ACC) at #24 Duke (9-3, 3-0 ACC)
\nSunday, March 15\u00a0 *\u00a0 12 p.m.
\nDurham, N.C.\u00a0 *\u00a0 Ambler Tennis Stadium
\nLive Scoring <\/a>\u00a0l\u00a0 Watch Live<\/a>\u00a0l\u00a0 Digital Program<\/a>
\n\u00a0
\nDURHAM, N.C. \u2013 The 24th-ranked Duke women’s tennis team returns home for a pair of ACC matches this week as the Blue Devils host Louisville and Notre Dame Friday, March 13 and Sunday, March 15, respectively.
\n\u00a0
\nDuke (9-3, 3-0 ACC) and Louisville (9-4, 1-4 ACC) will play at 5 p.m., Friday and the Blue Devils and Irish (12-4, 2-3) will compete Sunday at 12 p.m.\u00a0 The Blue Devils enter the weekend with a 17-match home winning streak.\u00a0 Both contests are slated to be contested at Ambler Tennis Stadium.\u00a0 Admission is free and parking will be available in the Blue Zone lot adjacent to the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nThe Series with Louisville
\nDuke and Louisville will meet for the 12th time in program history with the Blue Devils leading the series, 11-0.\u00a0 In matches played in Durham, Duke owns a 6-0 ledger.\u00a0 Head coach Jamie Ashworth<\/a> owns an 11-0 record against the Cardinals.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nScouting Louisville
\nLouisville enters the contest with a 9-4 overall and 1-4 ACC mark.\u00a0 The Cardinals defeated Middle Tennessee State, 6-1, Wednesday.\u00a0 In ACC play, since defeating Florida State, 4-3, on Feb. 20, Louisville has dropped three matches in a row against Georgia Tech, Miami and Clemson.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nThe Series with Notre Dame
\nDuke and Notre Dame will meet for the 31st time in program history with the Blue Devils leading the series, 26-4.\u00a0 In matches played in Durham, Duke owns a 9-0 ledger.\u00a0 The two teams didn’t face each other in 2025 and Notre Dame won the previous contest, 4-2, in South Bend, Indiana on April 12, 2024.\u00a0 Head coach Jamie Ashworth<\/a> owns a 22-4 record against Notre Dame.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nScouting Notre Dame
\nNotre Dame enters the weekend with a 12-4 overall and 2-3 ACC mark.\u00a0 The Irish face North Carolina Friday, March 13 before heading to Durham on Sunday.\u00a0 In ACC play, Notre Dame defeated Florida State and Louisville, while dropping matches to Clemson, Georgia Tech and Miami.\u00a0 The Irish are currently ranked No. 55 as a team.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nNotre Dame features Bianca Molnar (#75) ranked in singles, while Molnar and Bojana Pozder are No. 73 in doubles.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nWhat is Next
\nDuke will hit the road for three road matches in a row.\u00a0 The Blue Devils start the action at Ohio State Sunday, March 22 at 12 p.m.
\n\u00a0
\nITA Rankings
\nDuke is currently No. 24 nationally in the ITA rankings as a team.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nHead coach Jamie Ashworth<\/a> has guided Duke to 21 top-10 preseason rankings in his 30 seasons as the head coach of the Blue Devils.\u00a0 Duke has been in the preseason top-16 nationally in each of the last 30 years under Ashworth.
\n\u00a0
\nIn singles play, Irinia Balus (#13), Eleana Yu<\/a> (#101), Aspen Schuman<\/a> (#107) and Liv Hovde<\/a> (#114) are ranked.\u00a0 Duke features three doubles teams as well with Shavit Kimchi<\/a>\/Hovde (#13), Hovde\/Balus (#33) and Eleana Yu<\/a>\/Claire An<\/a> (#61).\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nApproaching 1,000 Wins as a Program
\nDuke is only three wins away from reaching 1,000 victories as a program.\u00a0 The Blue Devils currently feature a 997-305 ledger over the 49 years of the program.\u00a0 In NCAA history, only three programs have reached 1,000 wins \u2013 Stanford, Florida and Georgia. Duke will become the fourth.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nVarious Duke Notes<\/p>\n


\n\tShavit Kimchi<\/a> 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)
\n\tIrina Balus<\/a> (13), Liv Hovde<\/a> (10) and Claire An<\/a> (10) lead Duke with double-digit singles wins on the season.\u00a0
\n\tFreshman Claire An<\/a> recently registered both match-clinching wins against Boston College and Syracuse.\u00a0 They were the first two match-clinching victories of her career.\u00a0
\n\tIn just two seasons, Liv Hovde<\/a> has totaled a 32-8 overall, 23-6 dual match and 12-2 ACC record in doubles play.
\n\tFreshman Aspen Schuman<\/a> has opened her collegiate career with a 7-2 overall and 3-0 ACC ledger in singles action.\u00a0 In doubles play, Schuman is 5-3 overall and 2-1 in ACC play.\u00a0
\n\tDuke sophomore Irina Balus<\/a> registered a win over Texas’ second-ranked Carmen Andreea Herea, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4, in the National Team Indoors.\u00a0 It marked the highest ranked win of her collegiate career.\u00a0
\n\tLiv Hovde<\/a> and Shavit Kimchi<\/a> are ranked No. 13 nationally in doubles, which is their second-highest ranking of the season. <\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nBalus with Impressive Wins
\nIrina Balus<\/a> is 8-1 this season in dual match action and 13-6 overall. \u00a0She owns six wins against nationally-ranked opponents, including wins against No. 2 and No. 12 players nationally. \u00a0She has won four matches in a row and eight out of the last nine. \u00a0Balus’ win against No. 2 Carmen Andreea Herea of Texas marked just the 20th win in program history over a player ranked No. 2 or higher nationally.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nFreshmen Impact
\nClaire An<\/a> and Aspen Schuman<\/a> have combined to open their collegiate careers with a 13-3 dual match record and 17-6 overall ledger. \u00a0They are 6-0 in ACC action. \u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nHome Court Advantage
\nSince the 2000-01 season, the Blue Devils have posted an 180-27 combined home record between Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center (49-10) and Ambler Tennis Stadium (131-17). The program has also gone 72-3 at Sheffield over the past 11 years and recorded 14 undefeated outdoor seasons, most recently a 9-0 mark at Ambler in 2024-25.
\n\u00a0
\nDuke is riding a 17-match home winning streak at home dating back to last season.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nDoubles Team Nets Honor
\nThe Duke tandem of Liv Hovde<\/a> and Shavit Kimchi<\/a> were named the ACC Doubles Team of the Week on Feb. 10, following the National Team Indoors.
\n\u00a0
\nHovde and Kimchi collected a 2-1 record at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Team Indoors at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana, Illinois.\u00a0 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).
\n\u00a0
\nSo far this season, Duke’s duo has collected a 10-4 record.\u00a0 Hovde and Kimchi also advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Doubles Championship in the fall.
\n\u00a0
\nBalus Earns PNC Achievers Award
\nDuke women’s tennis sophomore Irina Balus<\/a> 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.
\n\u00a0
\nSince arriving on campus, Balus has made an immediate impact on the Duke women’s tennis team.\u00a0 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 Bansk\u00e1 Bystrica, Slovakia, helped lead Duke to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Team Championship this past May and owns 27 wins over her first two seasons with the Blue Devils.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nBlue Devils Add Aspen Schuman<\/a> for Dual Match Action
\nIn November, Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth<\/a> announced the signing of Aspen Schuman<\/a>.\u00a0 A native of Menlo Park, California, Schuman joined the Blue Devils in January.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nSchuman 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nBalus Earns All-America Accolades Once Again
\nFor the second year in a row, Duke sophomore Irina Balus<\/a> has earned All-America honors as she advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship in the fall.\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nBalus became just the fourth Blue Devil to earn All-America accolades in each of their first two seasons in Durham \u2013 Amanda Johnson (2001, 2002), Kelly McCain (2002, 2023) and Vanessa Webb (1996, 1997).
\n\u00a0
\nBalus won five out of her final seven matches to conclude the fall and owns a career singles mark of 24-16.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nThe Head Coach
\nHead coach Jamie Ashworth<\/a> is in his 30th season with the Blue Devils and owns an impressive 645-165 ledger.\u00a0 In 2024, Ashworth registered his 600th victory on Jan. 20 in a 4-2 win over Illinois.\u00a0 He accomplished this mark in only 747 matches, becoming the quickest coach to 600 wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quickest to 600 Wins \u2013 747 matches by\u00a0Jamie Ashworth<\/a>\u00a0(Duke), 749 by Jeff Wallace (Georgia), 779 by Brian Kalbas (William & Mary\/North Carolina), and 785 by Lin Loring (UC Santa Barbara\/Indiana).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ashworth became the seventh NCAA Division I coach to reach the 600-win ledger \u2013 Lin Loring (846), Jeff Wallace (818), Brian Kalbas (797), Jay Louderback (703), Geoff MacDonald (631), Gualberto Escudero (631) and Jamie Ashworth<\/a> (636) (wins entering the 2026 season).

\n\u00a0

\nAmong the winningest coaches of all time, Ashworth ranks 10th with a 79.9 winning percentage, sixth with 645 wins, third for winningest active coaches by percentage (79.9) and second for winningest active coaches by victories (645).\u00a0

\n\u00a0

\nBig Sets for Little Hearts

\nThe 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.

\n\u00a0

\nBig Sets for Little Hearts pledges will be made based on the number of sets won by the men’s and women’s tennis programs.

\n\u00a0

\nIf 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.\u00a0 Pledges start at $0.10, $0.50, $1.00 and $2.50.\u00a0 Based on last year’s results, the smallest pledged donation would be equal to $64.70.\u00a0 For more information or to donate, click here<\/a>.

\n\u00a0

\nThe 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.\u00a0 The Duke Pediatric and Congenital Heart Center strives to improve their patients’ outcomes and the quality of their lives.

\n\u00a0

\nTo stay up to date with Blue Devils women’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “DukeWTEN”. \u00a0<\/p>\n

#GoDuke

\n\u00a0

\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Louisville (9-4, 1-4 ACC) at #24 Duke (9-3, 3-0 ACC) Friday, March 13\u00a0 *\u00a0 5 p.m. Durham, N.C.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-531814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}