Duke's Irina Balus Shines, But Blue Devils Fall Just Short Against Texas in 4-3 Nail-Biter
The seventh-ranked Duke women’s tennis team gave everything they had on Sunday at the ITA National Team Indoors in Urbana, but their run ended in heartbreak. Despite a signature win from sophomore Irina Balus-who took down the No. 2 singles player in the country-the Blue Devils dropped a tightly contested 4-3 match to No. 18 Texas at the Atkins Tennis Center.
This one had all the ingredients of a classic: top-tier talent, momentum swings, and a final court showdown that came down to the wire. While Duke came up just short, there were plenty of takeaways-starting with Balus’ statement victory.
Balus Delivers a Career-Defining Win
Let’s start with the headline: Irina Balus, ranked No. 28 nationally, went toe-to-toe with Texas’ Carmen Andreea Herea, the No. 2 player in the country, and came out on top in a three-set thriller: 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4.
Balus opened with confidence, jumping out to a 3-1 lead before Herea surged back. But the Duke sophomore refused to back down.
She clawed her way through the first set, winning a high-pressure tiebreaker 7-3. After dropping the second set, Balus found herself trailing 2-0 in the third.
That’s when she flipped the script again, winning four of the next five games and eventually closing out the match with two straight games to seal the upset.
It’s the biggest win of Balus’ young career and a clear sign she’s ready to compete with the nation’s elite.
Duke Takes the Doubles Point with Grit and Guts
Before the singles drama unfolded, Duke struck first by claiming the doubles point-but it didn’t come easy.
On court two, Texas got the early edge as Elizabeth Ionescu and Carmen Andreea Herea defeated Duke’s No. 19-ranked duo of Liv Hovde and Shavit Kimchi, 6-3. Hovde and Kimchi started strong, taking the first game, but Texas responded with four straight to take control.
Duke answered on court one, where the No. 29-ranked tandem of Claire An and Eleana Yu came out firing. They jumped to a 5-0 lead before closing out a 6-3 win over Christasha McNeil and Salma Drugdova.
That left the doubles point hanging in the balance on court three, where Balus and freshman Aspen Schuman were locked in a tight battle. Down 4-2 early, the Blue Devil pair stormed back to take a 5-4 lead and eventually won a tiebreaker 7-2 to clinch the point for Duke.
Texas Rallies in Singles, But Duke Battles to the End
With Duke holding a 1-0 lead after doubles, Texas came out swinging in singles play and took four of the six first sets. But Duke wasn’t going away quietly.
On court four, Eleana Yu delivered a composed performance. After falling behind early, she won five straight games, dropped four, and then closed out the first set 7-5. She never trailed in the second, winning 6-3 to put Duke up 2-0.
Texas struck back on court three, where Eszter Meri edged out Schuman in three sets. Schuman showed resilience by taking the second set 6-4, but Meri dominated the third, 6-0.
The Longhorns evened the match at 2-2 on court six, where Ionescu outlasted Claire An in a back-and-forth battle, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
Texas then grabbed its first lead when No. 63-ranked Anastasia Abbagnato held off Duke’s No. 120-ranked Hovde in a grueling three-setter: 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3.
That set the stage for Balus’ heroics on court one, where her win over Herea tied the match at 3-3 and left it all up to court five.
Match Comes Down to Kimchi vs. Mansfield
With the team score tied, everything hinged on Duke’s Shavit Kimchi and Texas’ Kate Mansfield. The two traded blows in a high-stakes, three-set marathon.
Kimchi led late in the first set, 6-5, but Mansfield forced a tiebreaker and edged it 7-5. Kimchi responded with a strong second set, winning 6-4 and riding that momentum into a 4-2 lead in the third.
But Mansfield wasn’t done. She clawed back to tie it at 4-4, then went up 5-4. Kimchi held serve with a pair of aces to even it at 5-5, but Mansfield closed strong, winning the next two games to secure the 7-5 third-set win-and the match for Texas.
What the Numbers Say
- Irina Balus is now 10-6 on the season and 5-1 in dual matches. She’s won 7 of her last 9.
- Eleana Yu picked up her second win of the weekend and improved to 6-6 overall.
- Balus and Schuman, who clinched the doubles point, are now 3-1 as a pair.
- An and Yu improved to 6-3 in doubles and 3-1 in dual matches.
- Aspen Schuman suffered her first dual match loss of the season (now 4-1).
Coach Jamie Ashworth’s Take
After the match, Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth didn’t sugarcoat the loss, but he saw it as a growth opportunity:
“Definitely a heartbreaker to lose, but hopefully it is a good learning moment for us. In these matches, you have to be extremely physical and Texas did a better job as the matches got into third sets with their legs than we did.
If we want to win matches like this against quality opponents like we had today, we need to get physically tougher. This is on us as coaches and our staff to make sure we are able to compete at a high level whether it is the first day of an event or the last.”
What’s Next for Duke
The Blue Devils will get a breather before opening up ACC play later this month. They’ll host Boston College on February 20, followed by Syracuse on February 22 in Durham.
The loss stings, no doubt. But with a young roster showing this kind of fight against a top-20 opponent, the pieces are there. If Duke can build on this performance-and keep getting elite-level play from Balus-they’ll be a tough out come postseason.
Stay tuned. This team’s story is just getting started.