Since the young Blue Devils have not classified for the ITA Nationals this year, they will end their fall slate early and at home.
With a squad mostly consisting of underclassmen, Duke starts its participation in the Kitty Harrison Invitational this Friday at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The three-day tournament—which features 18 teams and is split between Durham and Chapel Hill—is the last competition of 2015 for the Blue Devils, giving them the opportunity to take on at least three of their spring opponents—Virginia, Texas and Michigan.
“[For the Kitty Harrison Invitational,] we’ve been working a lot on point play. We’re trying to put ourselves in pressure situations as much as we can in practice,” Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth said. “We’ve tried to simulate match pressure in different scenarios the best that we can. We can do it [but] it’s hard because they have to fake it in their heads a little bit. But we’ve added rewards or something that can add more pressure in practices.”
Two freshmen have registered the team’s best singles records this season. Kaitlyn McCarthy posted a 7-1 record and Ellyse Hamlin accumulated six wins against only two losses.
After two sets of doubles matches Friday, the Blue Devils will take on Michigan to kick off singles action at 1 p.m. Duke will get an earlier start in singles play the next two days, facing Louisiana State at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and South Carolina at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Hamlin said that the Blue Devil upperclassmen had been very welcoming and that she was having a good time in her first semester at Duke, getting used to both a new academic environment and new teammates.
“It’s been an adjustment, since I came from online school,” Hamlin said. “So being in an actual classroom with other people and having a professor who’s tangible has been a lot different. But there’s a lot of support surrounding us. We have a lot of team dinners so we spend a lot of time together. It’s definitely been an easier transition than I thought it would be.”
Junior Alyssa Smith said that the newcomers had rejuvenated the squad and that the veterans had tried to give Hamlin and her classmates guidance on and off the court.
“Our freshman class this year has been really good at jumping into the thick of things and competing as a team,” Smith said. “[The Kitty Harrison Invitational] is a really good opportunity to give them a taste of what it’s going to be like in the spring. It’s cool to let them dip their toes in the water, see what [competition] is like before we actually get thrown into season in January.”
In singles, Duke will play against Texas Friday and Louisiana State University the day after, before closing action Sunday by battling South Carolina.
In doubles, Ashworth’s squad starts its tournament action Friday, when it plays Virginia and Texas. The Blue Devils end their participation in the doubles ledger Saturday, facing Penn State at 10 a.m.
The duo of Hamlin and senior Beatrice Capra—ranked 39th in the nation—has captured nine wins this fall. In the doubles portion of the three-day Duke James Bonk Invite Sept. 18-20, McCarthy and sophomore Samantha Harris defeated all of their opponents—Furman, the Cavaliers and Florida.
“The three freshmen will play a huge role on the court and off the court in everything we do this year,” Ashworth said. “All three came into Duke fairly accomplished. All three have goals that they want to accomplish in the team and individually. They’ll make a huge impact and hopefully we can build for the future with them.”
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