STANFORD, Calif. – No. 25 Stanford pushed No. 4 Duke to the brink, but was unable to complete the comeback in a 4-3 defeat to wrap up its regular-season home schedule on Saturday afternoon.
Following the dual, Stanford seniors Valencia Xu, Alexandra Yepifanova and Connie Ma were honored in an on-court ceremony. The trio led Stanford to an 82-18 record over the past four seasons, including a 47-5 mark at home.
The Blue Devils won doubles and then picked up a win at No. 6 singles to go up 2-0.
Connie Ma got the Cardinal its first point with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1, beating No. 14 Irina Balus. Now 59-17 in her career against ranked opponents, Balus is the highest-ranked opponent Ma has defeated since beating LSU’s No. 7 Kylie Collins in the Torero Tennis Classic on Jan. 13, 2023 (6-1, 6-0). The senior is a perfect 13-0 this spring.
Duke notched its third point with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5, before Stanford even the dual with wins from Valerie Glozman at No. 2 and Carolina Driscoll at No. 3. Glozman beat No. 84 Liv Hovde 7-6 (1), 6-0 to move to 26-5 in her debut season. The freshman is now 12-5 against nationally-ranked opponents.
With Xu scratched from singles, Driscoll moved up to No. 3 and picked up her first ranked win on The Farm. The junior transfer beat No. 20 Emma Jackson 6-4, 6-4 to even the match 3-3.
At No. 4, Chidimma Okpara was down 3-0 in the second set and nearly forced a third, going up 5-4, but Eleana Yu won the final three games to decide it for Duke.
Stanford closes its regular season on the road. The Cardinal will play at No. 36 Wake Forest on Friday and No. 12 NC State on Sunday and will remain back east for the ACC Championship, which begins on Tuesday, April 15 in Cary, N.C.
#4 Duke 4, #25 Stanford 3
DOUBLES
1) #17 Irina Balus/Ellie Coleman (DUKE) d. #23 Valerie Glozman/Connie Ma (STAN) 6-2
2) #83 Caroline Driscoll/Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Shavit Kimchi/Ava Krug (DUKE) 6-2
3) Liv Hovde/Emma Jackson (DUKE) d. Chidimma Okpara/Morgan Shaffer (STAN) 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
1) #13 Connie Ma (STAN) d. #14 Irina Balus (DUKE) 6-1, 6-1
2) #8 Valerie Glozman (STAN) d. #84 Liv Hovde (DUKE) 7-6 (1), 6-0
3) Caroline Driscoll (STAN) d. #20 Emma Jackson (DUKE) 6-4, 6-4
4) #55 Eleana Yu (DUKE) d. Chidimma Okpara (STAN) 6-4, 7-5
5) #77 Shavit Kimchi (DUKE) d. Morgan Shaffer (STAN) 6-2, 6-0
6) #120 Ellie Coleman (DUKE) d. Emma Sun (STAN) 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 1, 5, 2, 3, 4