May 10, 2007
2007 NCAA Tournament Notes in PDF Format
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2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship
Notre Dame, Ind. • Courtney Tennis Center
First Round – Saturday, May 12
[No. 6 seed] #7 Notre Dame (25-3) vs. Illinois-Chicago (15-6), 9:00 a.m. (ET)
Live Scoring: und.com
#23 Michigan (16-7) vs. #37 Colorado (16-7), 11:00 a.m. (ET)
Live Scoring: und.com
Second Round – Sunday, May 13
First Round Winners, 12:00 p.m. (ET)
Live Scoring: und.com
#7 IRISH PLAY HOST TO NCAA FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS THIS WEEKEND: The sixth-seeded and seventh-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team (25-3) will play host to the opening two rounds of the 2007 NCAA Division I Championship this weekend at the Courtney Tennis Center. Action will begin Saturday at 9:00 a.m. (ET) with the Irish facing Horizon League champion Illinois-Chicago (15-6) in one first round matchup, with 23rd-ranked Michigan (16-7) taking on #37 Colorado (16-7) at 11:00 a.m. (ET) in the other. The winners will play on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. (ET). All matches are scheduled to be played outdoors, but could move inside due to inclement weather. Notre Dame’s official athletics website, und.com, will provide live scoring updates of all three matches.
NOTRE DAME IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: Notre Dame earned the No. 6 seed (bested only by last season’s No. 2 seed) in this year’s NCAA tournament and will be at home for early-round play for the second consecutive year. This is the eighth year in which the NCAA Team Championship will consist of a 64-team field (31 conference champions received automatic bids and 33 at-large entries). The first two rounds of the team championship are being contested at 16 campus sites this weekend. The 16 remaining teams will advance to the national site, University of Georgia’s Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga., for the final four rounds of the tournament, to be contested May 18-22.
Notre Dame has qualified for the team portion of the NCAA Championships for the 12th consecutive year and the 14th time in the last 15 seasons, all under the guidance of current head coach Jay Louderback. The best finish for the Irish came in 1996 and 2006, when they reached the quarterfinals each season. Notre Dame lost to Stanford, 5-1, in Tallahassee, Fla., to close the `96 campaign, while the Irish came up short against Miami (Fla.) a year ago. Notre Dame has advanced to the round of 16 four other times (1993, `94, 2000, and `01). The Irish earned one of the top 16 seeds in the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year and the sixth time overall, having done so previously in 1996 (Nos. 5-8 seed), 1999 (No. 12), 2000 (Nos. 13-16), ’01 (No. 13) and `06 (No. 2).
The Courtney Tennis Center will play host to NCAA women’s tournament action for the seventh time in the last decade, after being the national site in 1998 and an early-round venue in 1997, ’99, 2000, ’01 and `06. Notre Dame holds a 8-2 home record in NCAA play. Overall, it will be the 12th time the facility has played host to NCAA Championship competition, including having been the men’s national site in both 1971 and ’94.
Notre Dame is 17-13 all-time in NCAA Championship play and has won at least one match in all but one of its previous appearances in the national tournament. ND is 14-4 when playing lower-ranked teams, 2-9 against higher-ranked teams and 1-0 vs. teams with the same national ranking.
The Irish also had a good deal of success in the NCAA Tournament before moving up to the Division I level. In its final four years as a Division II competitor, Notre Dame tied for sixth in the AIAW national tournament in 1982, then took third in the NCAAs a year later, repeated that finish in 1984, and was the runner-up to Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1985.
In addition to its recent team success, Notre Dame has sent at least one player to either the NCAA singles or doubles tournament every year since 1989. For the 13th time in 15 years, the Irish will have entrants in both the singles and doubles events this season. Senior Catrina Thompson earned a third straight invitation to the 64-player NCAA Singles Championship, while she and twin sister Christian Thompson are in the doubles tournament for the fourth time in as many years. Notre Dame also qualified the doubles team of junior Brook Buck and sophomore Kelcy Tefft. The singles event begins May 23, while the doubles competition commences the following day, with both concluding May 28. Both take place at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
IRISH HEAD COACH: Jay Louderback is in his 18th season at Notre Dame with a 334-151 (.689) record and his 27th year as a collegiate coach with a 538-329 (.621) mark. He ranks fourth among active NCAA Division I women’s coaches in career victories and became just the 10th collegiate women’s coach ever to register 500 wins (4-3 win at Texas A&M on March 18, 2006). Louderback’s Irish have finished in the national top 30 in each of the last 14 seasons and have won 13 conference titles. Since the preseason of the 1992-93 season, Louderback’s teams have been in the national top 30 in all but two sets of ITA rankings and reached an all-time high of #2 (a total of 17 different times the last two years). After taking over a program looking for its first NCAA tournament appearance, Louderback has helped Notre Dame to the NCAAs 14 times in the last 15 years (which only 10 other schools have done), including six appearances in the round of 16 and two quarterfinal finishes (1996, 2006). Louderback, a four-time Midwest Region coach of the year, has been honored as his conference’s top coach on nine occasions, including six times in 12 years in the BIG EAST (most recently in 2006). In his time at Notre Dame, Louderback’s players have earned All-America honors 16 times, won four national ITA awards, and earned 22 invitations to the NCAA Singles Championship and 15 to the NCAA doubles tournament. In the fall of 2005, he delivered the first individual title in an ITA grand slam event, when junior twins Catrina Thompson and Christian Thompson won the doubles crown in the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships. His players have dominated the University awards during Louderback’s tenure, leading all sports in both Byron V. Kanaley awards (seven) and Francis Patrick O’Connor awards (six). His family was not only honored with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Tennis Family of the Year Award for 2002, but he was recently inducted into the USTA Missouri Valley Tennis Hall of Fame. The Arkansas City, Kan., native, and 1976 graduate of Wichita State arrived at Notre Dame prior to the 1989-90 season after coaching for seven years at his alma mater and three years (men and women) at Iowa State.
ND-MICHIGAN REGULAR-SEASON RECAP : The No. 2 Notre Dame women’s tennis team cruised past No. 23 and previously undefeated Michigan, 6-1, earlier this season. The Irish improved to 7-1 on the season, while the Wolverines dropped to 3-1.
After winning the doubles point, junior Brook Buck quickly gave the Irish a 2-0 advantage. Buck breezed past Tania Mahtani, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 5 singles.
Michigan cut the Irish lead to 2-1 following Chisako Sugiyama’s victory over freshman #31 Colleen Rielley at No. 2. Sugiyama was victorious in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Notre Dame pushed its lead to 3-1 when senior #41 Catrina Thompson cruised past #81 Jenny Kuehn, 6-3, 6-1.
Within seconds of Catrina Thompson’s win, freshman Cosmina Ciobanu clinched the match for the Irish with another dominating straight-set win. Ciobanu hammered Elizabeth Exon, 6-0, 6-3. Ciobanu had registered three straight, 6-0, set victories, before dropping three points in the second set triumph.
Leading 4-1, Notre Dame put away any doubt with victories from senior Christian Thompson at No. 3 and sophomore Katie Potts at No. 6.
Thompson dropped her opening set to Kara Delicata, 7-5, but answered back with a convincing 6-2 win in the second set and captured the match with a 1-0 (10-6) victory in the third set tie-breaker.
Potts had no trouble in her first set against Allie Shafner, winning 6-1, but trailed 4-1 in the second set. She slowly cut the deficit to 6-5, before winning the final two points, including a 7-1 edge in the second-set tiebreaker.
Notre Dame grabbed a 1-0 lead over the Wolverines following their sweep of all three doubles matches.
Notre Dame’s fifth-ranked tandem of Buck and sophomore Kelcy Tefft were the first Notre Dame duo to win their match. They took the first three points from Jenny Kuehn and Allie Shafner at No. 2 doubles. After the Wolverines drew within a point, 3-2, Buck and Tefft applied the pressure and extended the lead to 5-2 before running away with an 8-3 rout.
The freshman tandem of Ciobanu and Kali Krisik clinched the doubles point for the Irish with their victory at No. 3. They raced out to a 6-1 lead over Elizabeth Exon and Tania Mahtani and never looked back in an 8-4 triumph.
The 11th-ranked duo of Christian Thompson and Catrina Thompson found themselves in an early 3-1 hole to Kara Delicata and Chisako Sugiyama at No. 1, but rallied for an 8-4 win.
THOMPSON TWINS, BUCK, TEFFT Selected To NCAA Individual Tennis Championships: For the third consecutive year, Notre Dame senior Catrina Thompson earned invitations to both the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Singles Championship and the NCAA doubles tournament – along with her twin sister, Christian Thompson. Junior Brook Buck and sophomore Kelcy Tefft also qualified for the doubles tournament.
The All-American twins are the only team in the nation to have been invited to the last four NCAA doubles tourneys, while Catrina Thompson is one of just six players who have earned spots in both the singles and doubles draws in the last three years.
The other elite players who earned NCAA invitations in both singles and doubles in 2005, `06 and `07 are Audra Cohen (Miami), Zsuzsanna Fodor (California), Kristi Miller (Georgia Tech), Anne Yelsey (Stanford) and Riza Zalameda (UCLA).
Catrina Thompson, who enters the postseason ranked 32nd nationally in singles, was an at-large qualifier this season after earning automatic berths the previous two years. Last season the NCAA changed the qualification process to mirror that of the team event, meaning that the top singles player and top doubles team (providing they are nationally-ranked) in each of the 31 conferences earned automatic bids, with the remainder being filled by at-large selections. USF’s Shadisha Robinson – the tournament MVP – earned the BIG EAST’s automatic bid in singles as its highest-ranked player. Thompson was the league’s only at-large berth.
The Thompson sisters, ranked 12th in college tennis, earned the league’s automatic bid in doubles. The tandem will be the only doubles team in the field that has participated in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. In fact, the tandem of Olga Borisova and Marianna Yuferova of VCU are the only doubles team to compete in three straight tournaments.
Buck and Tefft, ranked 22nd, earn the BIG EAST’s only an at-large invitation in doubles. They went 23-5 overall and 15-2 in dual action. Buck and Tefft not only captured the ITA Midwest Regional Championship, but also reached the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship.
The Irish are one of just four teams across the country to place two doubles’ teams in the field. Notre Dame joins North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Miami (Fla.).
This marks the 12th time in the last 15 years that a Notre Dame player has garnered a spot in both the NCAA singles and doubles championships, but it was done previously by just three individuals other than Thompson: Wendy Crabtree (1993, ’94, ’95), Jennifer Hall (1997, ’98, ’99), and current assistant coach Michelle Dasso (1999, 2000, ’01).
The Most Outstanding Performer in the BIG EAST Tournament in 2005 and `06, Thompson went 2-1 in her three matches in this past tournament. She cruised past Christine Burek of UConn and Kylie Moore of Marquette in the quarterfinals and semifinals, dropping just a single game, before losing a heartbreaking, three-set affair to BIG EAST Player of the Year Shadisha Robinson of USF in the title match. Thompson, ranked 32nd in the most recent FILA/ITA rankings, is 25-10 on the season and 20-7 in dual action – all at No. 1 singles. She has also posted an impressive 11-7 mark against nationally ranked players.
Thirteen of her matches this season (37%) came against players that earned NCAA berths, and Thompson held a 5-8 record against that group, with the victories coming against Beier Ko of Harvard, Vanja Corovic of Texas, Amanda Taylor of Vanderbilt, Blakeley Griffith of Tennessee and Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech.
A season ago, Thompson moved into the second round of the event following her three-set triumph over Margarita Karnaukhova of Sacramento State. She became the third Irish player ever to win a match in the tournament on multiple occasions, but ran into Zemenova of Baylor, the defending NCAA singles champion, in the second round and lost in straight sets.
Two years ago, Thompson was one set away from being an All-American in singles, as well. She beat Arizona State’s Sophia Capannolo 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round of the NCAA singles bracket and then lost 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 to Mississippi’s Chloe Carlotti.
The Thompson twins stand 28-8 together on the season and 20-5 in dual matches. They have won consecutive matches and 11 of their last 12. The sisters are 10-4 on the road and 10-2 in outdoor matches.
Last season, the third seeded Thompsons were upset in the first round of the doubles tournament. They had reached the round of 16 during their freshman (2004) and sophomore (`05) campaigns.
The Thompsons played 10 matches against NCAA qualifiers this season – in addition to several more against teams featuring one player that earned a bid to the NCAAs – posting a 4-6 mark. They reached the finals of the Riviera/ITA All-American for the third straight season, but were unable to repeat as champions. The Thompsons lost in the first round of the second leg of the grand slam, the ITA National Indoors. The twins hope to achieve the school’s second-ever grand slam title after another strong showing at the NCAAs, which has never seen a Notre Dame duo reach the semis (three have lost in the quarterfinals).
ND SEES 15 OPPONENTS EARN NCAA BIDS: An incredible 15 of Notre Dame’s 28 matches from this season were against teams that qualified for the tournament: BYU, Vanderbilt (No. 16 seed), Tennessee, Texas, Wichita State, USF, Texas A&M, Northwestern (No. 5 seed), Indiana, Duke, North Carolina (No. 11 seed), Michigan, Georgia Tech (No. 3 seed), Clemson (No. 7 seed) and Wake Forest. The Irish went 12-3 against that group.
CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE: Notre Dame has an incredible record of success in conference action, holding a 59-6 (.919) all-time record against conference foes, including a 26-6 (.857) record in the BIG EAST tournament. Five of the six defeats came against Miami (Fla.), which was a fellow member of the BIG EAST Conference from 1996-2004. Notre Dame has a 40-3 (.950) all-time record against current BIG EAST schools, having lost to Marquette in 1989 and South Florida in 1993 and 2007 (BIG EAST Tournament final). Following seven years as an independent, the Irish were members of the North Star Conference from 1983-84 to 1987-88, the Midwestern Collegiate Conference from 1988-89 to 1994-95, and the BIG EAST since 1995-96. In 23 years of league membership, Notre Dame has been league champs 19 times (and runner-up the other five years) and won 27 consecutive matches against league foes from 1983-98.
ALL-TIME RECORDS AGAINST CURRENT BIG EAST TEAMS: See below Notre Dame’s all-time record against the current members of the conference.
School Record vs. BIG EAST Tournament LastCincinnati 1-0 0-0 `85 (fall)-W, 6-1Connecticut 1-0 1-0 `07 (BET)-W, 4-0DePaul 10-0 1-0 `07-W, 7-0Georgetown 1-0 1-0 `98 (BET)-W, 4-0Louisville 2-0 0-0 `07-W, 6-1Marquette 10-1 1-0 `07 (BET)-W, 4-0Pittsburgh 0-0 0-0 --Providence 1-0 1-0 `97 (BET)-W, 4-0Rutgers 4-0 3-0 `06 (BET)-W, 4-0St. John's 2-0 2-0 `05 (BET)-W, 4-0Seton Hall 1-0 1-0 `00 (BET)-W, 5-0South Florida 1-2 1-1 `07 (BET)-L, 3-4Syracuse 4-0 2-0 `05 (BET)-W, 4-0Villanova 0-0 0-0 --West Virginia 2-0 1-0 `01-W, 7-0Totals 40-3 15-1
WE ARE FAMILY: Notre Dame women’s tennis has long featured members of the same family on its teams. For the fifth consecutive season, Notre Dame will have a set of sisters on its roster: senior twins Catrina Thompson and Christian Thompson. They have already become the first set of Irish sisters — and first twins of either sex — to both become All-Americans. The previous three seasons had featured two pairs of sisters on the Irish roster, but that has changed with the graduation of Maggie Donohue in 2003 and Sarah Jane Connelly in 2005. Another family connection was added in 2005, as head coach Jay Louderback’s daughter, Bailey Louderback joined the team. He became the 11th Notre Dame coach — just the second in a women’s sport (along with softball’s Brian Boulac) — to have coached his son or daughter with the Irish. The family connection grew even larger this season when Louderback’s niece, Kali Krisik chose to play at Notre Dame.
CIOBANU CUT ABOVE THE REST: Freshman Cosmina Ciobanu has exploded onto the college tennis scene in her first season at Notre Dame. Ciobanu enters the NCAA Tournament with a gaudy 34-5 record overall and 24-1 in dual matches. She was looking to become the first Irish player to ever finish a season undefeated in dual action (with a minimum of 10 victories) before a defeat against Gabriela Duch of USF (three sets) in the BIG EAST Tournament final. Ciobanu was the only Irish player and one of just two freshmen ranked among the nation’s top 100 players that went undefeated in dual action during the regular season. She also ranks near the top of career and single-season Notre Dame records. She ranks first in career singles dual match winning percentage (24-1, .960) and career overall singles winning percentage (34-5, .872). Ciobanu also sits among the top five in the following single-season categories: overall victories, singles winning percentage, match-clinching victories, combined wins and combined dual match victories.
NATION’S TOP FRESHMAN CLASS YIELDING IMMEDIATE RESULTS: The freshman trio of Cosmina Ciobanu, Kali Krisik and Colleen Rielley were considered by many as the top recruiting class in the country. The trio has left little doubt to that fact. They have registered a combined record (singles and doubles) of 154-34 (.819), singles record of 77-20 (.794) and doubles mark of 77-14 (.846).
BOTTOM OF ND LINEUP WINNING 85% OF MATCHES: The key to Notre Dame’s success this season has been its outstanding depth, as the Irish hold a combined 92-16 (.852) mark in the bottom two spots of their lineups. Notre Dame is 47-8 (.855) combined at Nos. 5-6 in singles, as well as 45-8 (.849) at Nos. 2-3 doubles.
ND WINNING 84% OF DOUBLES MATCHES THIS SPRING: Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable in partnered play this spring, going 67-13 (.838), winning the doubles point in 26 of their 28 matches. The Irish are 22-5 at No. 1, 24-3 at No. 2 and 21-5 at No. 3. On the season, Notre Dame teams have combined for a 104-25 (.806) record in doubles. Senior All-America twins Catrina Thompson and Christian Thompson, ranked 12th nationally, stand 28-8 on the season, while the No. 2 tandem of junior Brook Buck and sophomore Kelcy Tefft – who teamed up to win five USTA super national titles in juniors play – are ranked 22nd and sporting a 23-5 record. Freshmen Cosmina Ciobanu and Kali Krisik began the spring with a six-match winning streak and are now 20-5. They fell out of the national rankings after peaking at 52nd. In all, the players on Notre Dame’s roster combined for 29 USTA super national gold balls in the juniors.
ND 11-2 AGAINST TOP-25 TEAMS: Notre Dame’s success has seen the Irish take on 13 squads ranked in the national top 25 at the time of the match. The Irish have wins against #12 Vanderbilt (4-3), #18 Clemson (5-2), #10 Baylor (5-2), #8 Northwestern (4-3), #23 Michigan (6-1), #7 North Carolina (5-2), #20 Wake Forest (7-0), #23 Texas A&M (5-2), #19 Texas (7-0), #23 Duke (4-3) and #19 Tennessee (6-1). Their only defeats came against #6 Georgia Tech (4-2) and #9 Northwestern (5-2).
ND BOASTING SCHOOL RECORD 28-MATCH WINNING STREAK AT HOME: Notre Dame has won 28 consecutive matches at home – 11 against top-25 opponents – since falling 4-3 to #13 Texas in the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Feb. 26, 2005.
LONGEST IRISH HOME WINNING STREAKS: See below a list of the longest home winning streaks in the 30-year varsity history of Notre Dame women’s tennis.
#, Dates Loss Ending It28, Feb. 27, 2005 - present --25, Sept. 12, 1979 - Sept. 22, 1982 9/25/82 vs. Purdue, 7-024, April 9, 1988 - Feb. 24, 1991 2/24/91 vs. LSU, 6-214, Feb. 19, 1993 - Feb. 8, 1994 2/11/94 vs. #15 Kansas, 8-114, Sept. 7, 1985 - April 6, 1986 9/12/86 vs. Illinois, 5-313, Feb. 4, 2001 - Jan. 26, 2002 2/2/02 vs. #24 Kentucky, 4-3
KEEPING UP WITH NOTRE DAME TENNIS: For the fastest results of Notre Dame tennis matches, call the Notre Dame sports hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #8. The hotline provides schedule and results information for varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the game recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website at www.und.com.
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