Duke’s men’s and women’s teams competed in the ITA All-American Championships last week, one of the biggest collegiate tournaments of the fall. The men played in Tulsa, Okla., and the women in Cary, N.C.
After one of the better seasons in recent program history, Duke men’s tennis is officially back for the 2023-24 season — along with nearly the entirety of last year’s team. Sophomore Pedro Rodenas, graduates Andrew Zhang and Michael Heller and juniors Connor Krug and Jake Krug represented the Blue Devils in the singles rounds, but Rodenas was the star of the show.
After having to qualify for the main draws of the tournament last season, Rodenas was a 9-16 seed in the tournament and advanced to the round of 16. The 18th-ranked player in the country opened with ranked wins against No. 49 Alex Martinez of Oklahoma and No. 27 Iiro Vasa of San Diego. However, Rodenas fell to Virginia’s fellow Spaniard No. 8 Iñaki Montes de la Torre 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1.
“A big improvement from last year,” said head coach Ramsey Smith. “Any win in the main draw is a big win. He had some big wins and lost a tough three setter… but overall was pleased with this play.”
Rodenas has established himself as one of the best players in the nation, remarkable for a sophomore. Over the summer, he won the ITF M25 Denia in his home country and had a lot of success on the professional tour.
“His mental game is a lot stronger after a year at Duke and he's fully committed to play professional tennis and he played all summer,” Smith said. “I think he came back this fall a lot more comfortable, a lot more confident.”
Smith also confirmed that redshirt senior Garrett Johns is away from the team this fall playing on the professional circuit and will join the team in the spring.
Elsewhere in Tulsa, graduates Heller and Zhang, the No. 10 doubles team, had a successful run. They opened with a three-set victory against No. 38 Duncan Chan and Lui Maxted of TCU. The Blue Devils’ top tandem backed this up with another ranked victory, this time besting Virginia Tech’s No. 28 team of Ryan Fishback and Alberto Orso 7-6 (7), 7-5.
“They have become great friends, they have amazing chemistry on the doubles court and very different personalities, very different game styles, but it just kind of works,” said Smith. “They really, really enjoy playing with each other and they're playing at a really high level.”
However, Montes once again proved to be the Duke slayer, as he and James Hopper ended Heller and Zhang’s impressive run in the quarterfinals, winning a thriller 6-3, 5-7, 10-7.
“To make the quarterfinals [in doubles] and the round of 16 in singles is definitely a good sign for the program,” Smith said.
The women’s squad, on the other hand, did not have as successful of a run in Cary. However, while the Blue Devils tallied just a 5-10 combined singles record, individual players showed promise. Juniors Ellie Coleman and No. 36 Emma Jackson tallied impressive wins, and freshman Shavit Kimchi continued to impress.
Coleman and Jackson, who both have two years of ACC experience, will step into even larger roles this season, with the departure of Duke’s top two singles players in Chloe Beck and Cameron Morra. Jackson showed signs of being up to the challenge, taking down two ranked opponents in No. 49 Sofiya Chekhlystova of Penn State 6-3, 6-4 and No. 52 Isabella Pfennig of Miami 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Coleman also picked up a first-round win but fell in three sets to Oklahoma’s Ava Catanzarite.
The junior duo has also played alongside each other, recently winning the Fall Ranked Spotlight Sept. 24, but head coach Jamie Ashworth is using the fall to experiment with a number of doubles pairs. At the ITA All-American Championships, Coleman played alongside Kimchi and the two picked up a big win over Florida’s 27th-ranked pairing of Carly Briggs and Rachel Gailis.
Kimchi, who is just months into her Blue Devil career, has already taken down three top-30 opponents. The Sdey Hemed, Israel, native also won the 2022 Israel National Championship and owns five career WTA doubles titles. As her Duke career continues, Kimchi will look to grow her list of accolades even further.
Both the men’s and women’s programs will continue their fall slates as they prepare for the always-competitive ACC season in the spring. Next up for both sides is the ITA Regional Championships, beginning Oct. 20 in Cary for the men and Oct. 19 in Chapel Hill for the women.
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Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity sophomore and an assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.
Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity sophomore and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.