Durham, N.C. (SMU) – The SMU women's tennis team came up short to No. 9 Duke (16-2, 8-0 ACC) Sunday morning in Durham, North Carolina, falling 4-2 to the Blue Devils.

"Our team continues to make strides," said head coach Jeff Nevolo after the match. "We took both of the matches this weekend as an opportunity to get better and we put ourselves in winning situations against two top ten teams. Great wins for Sophie and Ari today. It was nice to see them get it done. As we enter the final stretch of the season, this team has an opportunity to do something special."
 
The Blue Devils took the first match of the morning, as their No. 13-ranked pairing Irina Balus and Ellie Coleman defeated Sophie Llewellyn and Caroline McGinley 6-0 on court one of doubles. Despite two even battles on courts two and three, Duke came away with the doubles point with a late run on court three. Emma Jackson and Liv Hovde from the Blue Devils got the win over Kayla Schefke and Arianna Stavropoulos 6-4. Ellie Pittman and Drew Morris held a one-point advantage on court two, leading 4-3 over Shavit Kimchi and Ava Krug prior to the match being abandoned.
 
Duke extended their lead in singles, winning on court six 6-1, 6-0 and then on court three 6-2, 6-0, drawing themselves within one point of the clinch. SMU fought back, winning the following two points to close the gap. Arianna Stavropoulos won her eighth straight decision, taking down No. 66 Shavit Kimchi (DUKE) 6-3, 6-4, and then Sophie Llewellyn collected a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Liv Hovde (DUKE) on court one. However, No. 25 Emma Jackson clinched the match for the Blue Devils with a 6-3, 7-5 win on court two over SMU's Drew Morris.

NEXT UP:
SMU will host Wichita State and Tarleton State for a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. CT. The program will also recognize Arianna Stavropoulos and Drew Morris in a senior day ceremony.
 
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Mustangs by following SMU Women's Tennis on X @SMUWTennis, on Instagram @smuwtennis, and on Facebook @SMUWomensTennis, or check out information online at smumustangs.com.
 
Results
#61 SMU 2, #9 Duke 4
Doubles
1. #13 Irina Balus/Ellie Coleman (DUKE) def. Sophie Llewellyn/Caroline McGinley (SMU) 6-0
2. Ellie Pittman/Drew Morris (SMU) vs. Shavit Kimchi/Ava Krug (DUKE) 4-3 unf
3. Liv Hovde/Emma Jackson (DUKE) def. Arianna Stavropoulos/Kayla Schefke (SMU) 6-4
 
Singles
1. Sophie Llewellyn (SMU) def. Liv Hovde (DUKE) 6-4, 7-5
2. #25 Emma Jackson (DUKE) def. Drew Morris (SMU) 6-3, 7-5
3. #41 Eleana Yu (DUKE) def. Ellie Pittman (SMU) 6-2, 6-0
4. Arianna Stavropoulos (SMU) def. #66 Shavit Kimchi (DUKE) 6-3, 6-4
5. Kayla Schefke (SMU) vs. #125 Ellie Coleman (DUKE) 6-3, 3-6, 0-3 unf
6. Ava Krug (DUKE) def. Caroline McGinley (SMU) 6-2, 6-1
 
(Order of finish: Doubles 1, 3 / Singles 6, 3, 4, 1, 2)