Although they haven’t competed in two weeks, the Blue Devils should be able to pick up right where they left off at ITA Regionals.
Duke will hit the courts Friday for its last tournament of the fall season at the Tar Heel Invitational, which will be held at both the Blue Devils' Sheffield Indoor Tennis Stadium and North Carolina's Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The tournament takes on a dual-meet format, similar to what Duke will face in the spring.
This match will be important to give the team’s three freshmen—Samantha Harris, Christina Makarova and Rebecca Smaller—valuable experience with the more team-oriented format.
Smaller was especially successful in the ITA Regional tournament, advancing to the singles quarterfinals and second round of the doubles bracket with partner Rachel Kahan. Their final match ended the duo’s six-match winning streak.
This weekend’s invitational begins with doubles competition featuring a multitude of teams including Southern California, Penn State, Maryland and Virginia.
Doubles remains a key area of focus for Duke, as the team is trying to solidify their combinations before the start of the spring season. Ashworth identifies communication as being a key factor to having success in pairs play.
“If they get used to playing with one person all the time and they know their tendencies," Ashworth said. "Then when we put them with new people, they really have to work on their communication on the court, so that’s something that we’ve been stressing a lot so hopefully we can that see this weekend.”
For Makarova, this tournament marks her season-debut following a rehab stint stemming from an off-season surgery. The No.2 recruit will look to make a big splash and find a quick rhythm to make up for lost time early in her young career.
“[Makarova’s] going to play this weekend, so we’re excited about that and I think she’s excited as well,” Ashworth said. “She had knee surgery before she came to school, but she’s healthy and good to go.”
With its valuable practice time between tournaments, the team has been focusing on putting themselves in match-play situations to gear up for an intensive spring season.
After five fall events, the Blue Devils will take the court more than 20 times in the spring, making fall practices the perfect time for Ashworth and his staff to pinpoint specific areas of improvement for their players.
“[We have been working on] a lot of point situation stuff, just trying to put ourselves in point play and pressure situations, the best we can,” Ashworth said.
Although the tournament competition is fierce, according to Ashworth, some of the best competition lies within the team itself.
“We go through stretches where we have to understand that we have to push each other in practice and some of the best matches that they’re going to get during the year are in practice,” Ashworth said. “We have a good and talented group that can go on the court and be competitive with each other in practice and put themselves in that match mode.”
This weekend's tournament will be the Blue Devils' last of 2014. Duke will hit the courts Jan. 8 in Maui, Hawaii to kickoff the spring season at the Hidden Duals.
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