Balus, Coleman Move on at NCAA Doubles Championship

WACO, Texas – The Duke women’s tennis tandem of Irina Balus and Ellie Coleman made their debut Wednesday at the NCAA Doubles Championship in Waco.  The Blue Devils registered a 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6) victory over 23rd-ranked Eliza Tomase and Catherin Aulia of Tennessee to move on to the round of 16 at the Hurd Tennis Center. 
 
The Duke tandem opened strong in the first set leading 4-1 early, but the Lady Vols came back to win three games in a row to even the score, 4-4.  The Blue Devils regained the lead, 5-4, and had three set points in the next game, but eventually dropped it to tie the score, 5-5.  Tomase and Aulia then broke Duke and won the next game to take the first set, 7-5. 
 
For the second straight set, Duke opened with a 3-1 lead, but Tennessee came back to even the ledger, 3-3.  With the set tied, 4-4, the Balus and Coleman held serve and broke the Lady Vols to win the second, 6-4. 
 
Tennessee led, 2-1, early in the tiebreaker, but Balus and Coleman won three straight points to go ahead, 4-2.  Duke never trailed the rest of the way and eventually took the match with a 10-6 victory in the third set. 
 
Balus and Coleman moved to 8-1 on the season and will next face 20th-ranked Lily Fairclough and Grace Piper of Southern California on Thursday. 
 
In the round of 32 of singles, Blue Devil senior Emma Jackson had her run come to an end with a 6-3, 6-3 setback to 12th-ranked Julia Fliegner of Michigan.  Jackson, who is from La Grange Park, Ill., won the opening game of the match, but Fliegner went on a run winning four straight.  By winning back-to-back games, Jackson cut into the lead, 3-4, but Fliegner won the final two games to take the first set.  Fliegner never trailed in the second set taking the match, 6-3. 
 
All matches will be streamed on ESPN+ with Cracked Racquets doing the broadcasts. 
 
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women’s tennis, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching “https://goduke.com/news/2024/11/20/DukeWTEN”.  
 
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