Feb. 20, 2005
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the third time in 10 days, the 20th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team (4-4) held a lead against a top-20 opponent, but could not convert that into a victory, as the Irish dropped a pair of three-setters – after being up a set in both tilts – to lose 4-3 to #9 North Carolina (9-3) Sunday morning in the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The match came down to the No. 4 contest with the team score knotted at 3-3, but Tar Heel Sara Anundsen rallied to beat Irish junior Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
For the third time in as many matches against top-20 teams, Notre Dame got to three points first, going up 3-2 with just the Nos. 4 and 6 contests left on the court. At the bottom position, Notre Dame junior Liz Donohue (Sioux Falls, S.D./O’Gorman H.S.) dropped just a single game in the first set, but then saw North Carolina freshman Alexandra Jurewitz come back for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph to put the fate of the match in the hands of the No. 4 players.
The Irish claimed the doubles point for the seventh time in eight matches this season, winning at Nos. 1 and 3. First off the court was the latter match, where Irish senior captain Sarah Jane Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) and junior Kristina Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph’s Academy) prevailed over Caitlin Collins and Jurewitz 8-2. Sophomore twins Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) and Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.), the #2-ranked team in college tennis, clinched the match’s initial point for the Irish by defeating the 14th-ranked team of Kendall Cline and Aniela Mojzis 8-6 at No. 1.
With the victory, the Thompsons figure to become the first Notre Dame doubles team ever to ascend to the national #1 ranking when the new set of Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings is released Tuesday. The sisters stand 16-2 this season, including 8-0 in spring dual-match action and 11-1 vs. nationally-ranked teams. The current top-ranked doubles team, Cristelle Grier and Audra Cohen of Northwestern, stands 18-2 on the season, but their defeats both came this month: an 8-3 decision against #4 Maja Kovacek/Iva Gersic of New Mexico and an 8-6 contest vs. the unranked team of Shadisha Robinson and Croline Basu of Georgia.
In the final doubles match, Anundsen and Jenna Long beat the Notre Dame team of Lauren Connelly and freshman Brook Buck (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (7-5).
Stastny gave the Irish a 2-0 lead by beating Collins 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5 in the quickest singles match, but UNC would quickly even the score. Cline, ranked 37th, got the Tar Heels on the scoreboard with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) win over 85th-ranked Buck at No. 2, before Long downed Christian Thompson 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 at No. 3.
Catrina Thompson, ranked 69th, put the Irish within a point of victory by upsetting #26 Aniela Mojzis 7-6 (7-3), 7-5) at No. 1.
Notre Dame continued its struggles in close matches, having now lost five consecutive contests when the score is tied 3-3. The Irish have prevailed just once in eight 4-3 matches over the past two seasons.
#9 North Carolina 4, #20 Notre Dame 3
Singles
No. 1: #69 Catrina Thompson (ND) def. #26 Aniela Mojzis (UNC) 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
No. 2: #37 Kendall Cline (UNC) def. #85 Brook Buck (ND) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 3: Jenna Long (UNC) def. Christian Thompson (ND) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
No. 4: Sara Anundsen (UNC) def. Lauren Connelly (ND) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5: Kristina Stastny (ND) def. Caitlin Collins (UNC) 6-3, 6-3
No. 6: Alexandra Jurewitz (UNC) def. Liz Donohue (ND) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 3, 1, 6, 4*
Doubles
No. 1: #2 Thompson/Thompson (ND) def. #14 Cline/Mojzis (UNC) 8-6
No. 2: Anundsen/Long (UNC) def. Buck/L. Connelly (ND) 9-8 (7-5)
No. 3: Sarah Jane Connelly/Stastny (ND) def. Collins/Jurewitz (UNC) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1*, 2