The freezing weather put some Duke players under the weather, but neither the snow nor the Bulldogs could slow the Blue Devils down on their way to victory this weekend.
With Winter Storm Jonas arriving overnight, the Blue Devils will have the luxury of playing indoors on the recently resurfaced courts of the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center for the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
Playing on its home courts at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center for the first time this season, No. 16 Duke dominated Elon 7-0 in its first dual match of the season.
Duke and Elon are less than an hour’s drive apart, but the two squads have never crossed paths in dual match play. That changes Wednesday, when the No. 16 Blue Devils host the Phoenix looking to open spring head-to-head competition with a win for the ninth straight season.
Making their spring debut at the Freeman Memorial Invitational hosted by UNLV, the Blue Devils won 13 matches over the course of the three-day event with freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy leading the way.
Duke took down Kentucky a year ago in Lexington, so the Wildcats were able to exact a bit of payback Sunday in Durham.
Making their dual match debut, a trio of Blue Devil freshmen delivered strong performances to make a statement in Duke's first contest of 2016.
Led by Beatrice Capra—the lone senior on a squad mostly consisting of underclassmen—No. 16 Duke opens its spring season at the 14th annual Freeman Memorial Women’s Tennis Championships.
No. 13 Duke kicks off its dual match schedule this weekend at Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center, hosting Elon at 6 p.m. Friday and Kentucky at 1 p.m. Sunday in its first action of 2016.
Sophomore sensation Nicolas Alvarez’s fall season for the Blue Devils is not yet done. Alvarez has received the ITA Wild Card to the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship.
Despite 128 players competing this weekend, somehow it was two Blue Devils who ended up meeting in their final match Sunday.
Led by freshman Kaitlyn McCarthy, the Blue Devils ended their 2015 fall slate on a promising note despite not qualifying for the USTA/ITA National Championships.
Since the young Blue Devils have not classified for the ITA Nationals this year, they will end their fall slate early and at home.
For all but one Blue Devil, this weekend’s tournament will close out their fall season.
Although no Blue Devil advanced past the Round of 32 in the singles draw, Rebecca Smaller and Alyssa Smith made it to the quarterfinals of doubles play before being knocked out by South Carolina's Ingrid Martins and Ellie Zogg.
After registering solid performances at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships—a nine-day tournament held in Pacific Palisades, Calif., two weeks ago—Duke will compete in the USTA/ITA Regional tournament, which runs Thursday through Monday in Chapel Hill.
Freshman Adrian Chamdani and a young Blue Devil squad took the court in Cary, N.C., this weekend at the USTA/ITA Carolina Regional, with Chamdani advancing to the Round of 16 before being eliminated.
Friday afternoon, Nicolas Alvarez was eliminated from the ITA All-American Main Draw by Illinois’ Aron Hiltzik. Alvarez was able to advance to the second round before falling to Hiltzik in a tight 7-5, 7-5 decision. Alvarez was the only Duke player who made the trip to Tulsa, Okla., and entered the 64-man draw as the No.
For most, graduation entails the start of a new routine. After all, the word “commencement” comes from the Old French word “commencement,” meaning beginning or start.
Accompanied by Beatrice Capra, the only senior in a squad mostly consisting of underclassmen, three Blue Devil freshmen will have the opportunity to make their first appearance in a Duke uniform outside the state of North Carolina.
