Jamie Ashworth is heading into his 31st season at the helm of Duke women’s tennis with a fall schedule that stays busy from September through November.
The Blue Devils’ 2026 slate includes six dates, beginning Sept. 11-13 at the Kitty Harrison Invitational in Chapel Hill. Duke then keeps things close to home for the ITA All-American Championship, set for Sept. 19-27 at Cary Tennis Park in Cary.
October opens with a trip to California for the Battle in the Bay, where Duke will compete in San Francisco from Oct. 1-4.
The next stop comes later in the month, when the Blue Devils head to Columbia, South Carolina, for the ITA Regionals from Oct. 15-20.
Duke’s fall continues into November with the ITA Sectionals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Nov. 5-8, before wrapping up at the NCAA Individual Championship in Athens, Georgia, Nov. 17-22.
The schedule announcement comes with Duke carrying serious preseason recognition. The Blue Devils have eight players ranked in the ITA preseason singles and doubles polls, which were released Aug. 25.
In singles, junior Irina Balus checked in at No. 7, sophomore Aspen Schuman at No. 31, junior Liv Hovde at No. 58, freshman Nina Vargova at No. 79 and freshman Mimi Xu at No. 81. Vargova and Xu also landed at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in the newcomer rankings.
Duke also placed four doubles pairings in the preseason rankings. Vargova and Xu were No.
1, Schuman and Hovde came in at No. 18, Balus and senior Shavit Kimchi were No. 51, and sophomore Claire An and senior Eleana Yu were No.
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