DURHAM – The Duke women’s tennis team earned its 33rd-consecutive bid to the NCAA Team Championships and enter the event for the 34th time in program history, the NCAA announced Monday during its 2023 selection show. The Blue Devils were tabbed as a regional host site and will play the first and second rounds in Durham.
Duke garnered the No. 6 seed in the tournament and is set to face William & Mary (15-5) in first-round action on Friday in Ambler Tennis Stadium. The match is slated for a 5 p.m. start as the Blue Devils face the Tribe for the 34th time in program history.
In addition to Duke and William & Mary, 20th-ranked UCLA (13-7) and 37th-ranked Texas Tech (14-10) will also compete in Durham this weekend with first serve set for Friday at 2 p.m. The winner of each contest will face off in second-round action Saturday at 5 p.m.
The winner of each site advances to super-regional competition May 10-12. Each super-regional site will feature two teams playing a single-elimination format. With Duke seeded No. 6, if the Blue Devils advance to the round of 16 Duke will host a super-regional. The super-regional winners advance to the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, where the eight teams will compete for the national championship May 17-20. The event will be hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission at the USTA National Campus.
The Blue Devils enter the NCAA Tournament with a 22-4 overall record and are coming off a second-place finish in the very challenging ACC with an 11-2 ledger. Duke features seven wins against top-30 ranked teams and posted a 12-4 mark against teams that received invitations to the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
In 33 appearances, the Blue Devils have tallied a 79-32 record for a 71.2 winning percentage, advanced to the NCAA Semifinals 11 different times and won the 2009 NCAA Championship. Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth has guided the Blue Devils into the NCAA Tournament each of his 27 seasons at Duke, including nine semifinal trips and the 2009 title. The Blue Devils have advanced to the NCAA semifinals in three out of the last four NCAA Tournament appearances.
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