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Balus Earns NCAA Singles Championship Invite
9/26/2025 4:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
CARY, N.C. – The Duke women's tennis team closed action at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American Championship Friday at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary as sophomore Irina Balus earned an invitation to the NCAA Singles Championship in November.
Balus, a native of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, advanced to the quarterfinals following three victories in the singles main draw. She opened action Wednesday by knocking off 79th-ranked Salakthip Ounmang of Oklahoma, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the round of 64. Balus then registered a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win against 74th-ranked Gabreilla Broadfoot of NC State on Thursday. On Friday morning, Balus logged a 6-4, 7-5 win versus 53rd-ranked Rose Marie Nijikamp of Oklahoma State to earn the NCAA singles invite for the second year in a row. Balus' run came to an end Friday afternoon with a 6-0, 6-2 defeat against fifth-ranked Lucianna Perry of Ohio State.
Ranked No. 14 nationally in the preseason, Balus owns 20 career singles wins and 14 of those are against ranked foes. With the quarterfinal appearance, Balus is one of only four Blue Devils to reach the quarterfinals over the last 12 seasons (Beatrice Capra in 2013, Maria Mateas in 2018 and Georgia Drummy in 2021).
Freshman Claire An posted a pair of singles wins earlier in the week in the prequalifying stage. She totaled a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win against Maxine Murphy of Washington State and then posted a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory versus Zara Larke of Alabama. She dropped a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (8-6) decision in the round of 64 against UCLA's Ahmani Guichard.
After dropping her first-round prequalifying match, senior Katie Codd totaled a 7-5, 6-2 win versus Maria Taranova of Nebraska.
In the main draw, junior Shavit Kimchi fell in the first round to Georgia's Deniz Dilek, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, but closed play with an impressive win against 12th-ranked Theadora Rabman of North Carolina, 6-2, 6-2. The victory against the No. 12 ranked Rabman was the highest win of her collegiate career.
Junior Eleana Yu dropped both of her singles matches in the main draw.
In qualifying doubles action, Kimchi and An teamed together and fell in two very close three-set matches against Arkansas and Clemson.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke
Balus, a native of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, advanced to the quarterfinals following three victories in the singles main draw. She opened action Wednesday by knocking off 79th-ranked Salakthip Ounmang of Oklahoma, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the round of 64. Balus then registered a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win against 74th-ranked Gabreilla Broadfoot of NC State on Thursday. On Friday morning, Balus logged a 6-4, 7-5 win versus 53rd-ranked Rose Marie Nijikamp of Oklahoma State to earn the NCAA singles invite for the second year in a row. Balus' run came to an end Friday afternoon with a 6-0, 6-2 defeat against fifth-ranked Lucianna Perry of Ohio State.
Ranked No. 14 nationally in the preseason, Balus owns 20 career singles wins and 14 of those are against ranked foes. With the quarterfinal appearance, Balus is one of only four Blue Devils to reach the quarterfinals over the last 12 seasons (Beatrice Capra in 2013, Maria Mateas in 2018 and Georgia Drummy in 2021).
Freshman Claire An posted a pair of singles wins earlier in the week in the prequalifying stage. She totaled a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win against Maxine Murphy of Washington State and then posted a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory versus Zara Larke of Alabama. She dropped a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (8-6) decision in the round of 64 against UCLA's Ahmani Guichard.
After dropping her first-round prequalifying match, senior Katie Codd totaled a 7-5, 6-2 win versus Maria Taranova of Nebraska.
In the main draw, junior Shavit Kimchi fell in the first round to Georgia's Deniz Dilek, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, but closed play with an impressive win against 12th-ranked Theadora Rabman of North Carolina, 6-2, 6-2. The victory against the No. 12 ranked Rabman was the highest win of her collegiate career.
Junior Eleana Yu dropped both of her singles matches in the main draw.
In qualifying doubles action, Kimchi and An teamed together and fell in two very close three-set matches against Arkansas and Clemson.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWTEN".
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
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