Sept. 21, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The tournament’s third seed, junior Alicia Salas (Engelwood, Colo.), advanced to the singles semifinals to pace the University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team’s effort on the second day of the OSU/Prince Cup. Irish doubles teams also had a good day, with one falling in the main draw semifinals and one advancing to tomorrow’s consolation final. The tournament will conclude on Sunday with the final two rounds of singles, the doubles final and a number of consolation matches.
Salas, listed 86th in the preseason Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings, defeated Marina Chiarelli of Louisiana State 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (10-4) in the round of 16 and then dropped one of the tournament’s No. 5-8 seeds, Rebecca Hawkins of Eastern Michigan, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. The Irish junior is 3-0 this fall in singles after posting a 31-6 mark last season. She has won 30 of her last 33 matches, dating back to last year.
She will face the second seed, 69th-ranked Erica Fisk of Ohio State in Sunday’s semifinals. The other semifinal features another Buckeye, fourth-seeded and 89th-ranked Sadhaf Pervez, and one of the No. 5-8 seeds, Lisa D’Amelio of Eastern Michigan. Those matches are slated for 9:00 a.m. (EDT), while the final will be played at Noon (EDT).
None of the other four Irish players still competing in the singles main draw were able to escape the round of 16, though it took rallying from a set down and winning a tiebreaker followed by a match tiebreaker for No. 5-8 seed Rocio Fantilli of LSU to defeat freshman Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (10-3).
Sophomore Sarah Jane Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and freshman Jennifer Smith (Charlotte, N.C.) defeated Penn State’s team of Maaria Husain and Lindsay Downing 8-6 in the quarterfinals of the doubles main draw before falling 8-2 to the tournament’s top seed, the team of Hawkins and D’Amelio from Eastern Michigan. The Eagles pair topped Salas and freshman Kristina Stastny (St. Lous, Mo.) in the previous round.
Irish doubles teams were particularly successful in consolation action. The pair of freshmen Liz Donohue (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Kelly Nelson (St. Petersburg, Fla.), which lost in the first round on Friday, advanced to the final of the backdraw with an 8-6 win over Leigh Ann Merryman and Sarah Spence of Penn State on Saturday. Lauren Connelly and junior Emily Neighbours (Indianapolis, Ind.) won two consolation matches, defeating Meaghan Colville and Emily DeCamilla of Ohio State 8-5 before topping Daria Potapova and Izabela Mijic of Baylor by an 8-4 count.
Also experiencing consolation success for the Irish was senior Maggie Donohue (Sioux Falls, S.D.), who won a pair of matches, defeating LSU’s Bonnie White 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-4) and then downing Remy Swain of Miami (Ohio) 6-4, 6-3.
The OSU/Prince Cup is a seven-team tournament featuring a 48-player singles main draw and a 24-team doubles tournament. The field is comprised of players from Baylor, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana State, Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Penn State. Consolation brackets guarantee each player of playing in at least three matches.
OSU/Prince Cup
SINGLES
Round of 16
#62 [1] Vida Mulec (Baylor) d. Sarah Jane Connelly (ND) 6-3, 6-1
[5-8] Lisa D’Amelio (Eastern Michigan) d. Kelly Nelson (ND) 6-0, 6-1
#89 [4] Sadhaf Pervez (Ohio State) d. Kristina Stastny (ND) 6-2, 6-2
#86 [3] Alicia Salas (ND) d. Marina Chiarelli (Louisiana State) 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (10-4)
[5-8] Rocio Fantilli (LSU) d. Lauren Connelly (ND) 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (10-3)
Quarterfinals
#86 [3] Salas (ND) d. [5-8] Rebecca Hawkins (EMU) 6-4, 6-3
Consolation
Megan Marton (Penn State) d. Emily Neighbours (ND) 7-6, 6-0
Maaria Husain (PSU) d. Jennifer Smith (ND) 4-1, ret.
Maggie Donohue (ND) d. Bonnie White (LSU) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-4)
M. Donohue (ND) d. Remy Swain (Miami of Ohio) 6-4, 6-3
Prapaiphan Kansuthi (EMU) d. Liz Donohue (ND) 6-4, 6-2
Lindsay Williams (OSU) d. L. Donohue (ND) 7-6, 6-3
DOUBLES
Quarterfinals
[1] Hawkins/D’Amelio (EMU) d. Salas/Stastny (ND)
S.J. Connelly/Smith (ND) d. Husain/Lindsay Downing (PSU) 8-6
Semifinals
[1] Hawkins/D’Amelio (EMU) d. S.J. Connelly/Smith (ND) 8-2
Consolation
L. Donohue/Nelson (ND) d. Leigh Ann Merryman/Sarah Spence (PSU) 8-6
L. Connelly/Neighbours (ND) d. Meaghan Colville/Emily DeCamilla (OSU) 8-5
L. Connelly/Neighbours (ND) d. Daria Potapova/Izabela Mijic (BU) 8-4
Note: Number before players is national ranking. Number in brackets is tournament seeding.