May 6, 2004
Senior co-captain Alicia Salas (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) earned her second consecutive bid to the NCAA Singles Championship, while twins Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) and Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) are the only all-freshman duo in the field of the NCAA Doubles Championship, it was announced Thursday. It will mark the 10th time in 12 years that Notre Dame has had at least one entry in both the NCAA singles and doubles tournaments. This year’s events are slated for May 24-29 at the Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Salas, who enters the postseason ranked 22nd nationally, was an automatic qualifier. The top four players in each of the six regions — Salas, #3 Cristelle Grier of Northwestern, #38 Jennifer McGaffigan of Illinois, and #73 Katie McGaffigan of Wisconsin in the Midwest Region — gained automatic bids, while the remaining 40 slots in the 64-player field were available on an at-large basis. Three Midwest Region players — #70 Angela Buergis of Minnesota, #53 Michelle DaCosta of Michigan, and Northwestern’s #44 Jessica Rush — earned at-large berths. A year ago, Grier beat Salas 7-5, 6-0 in the first round of the NCAA singles tournament.
Salas is 23-16 on the season, including a 14-11 record against ranked opponents, highlighted by a streak of six consecutive victories. A qualifier in the first two legs of the grand slam last fall, Salas becomes just the fourth player in Irish history to play in each of the grand slam tournaments in a season. Both current assistant coach Michelle Dasso (1998-99 & 2000-01) and Wendy Crabtree (1993-94 & 1994-95) accomplished the feat twice, while Jennifer Hall did it in 1997-98. Salas is the sixth Notre Dame player to earn multiple bids to the NCAA Singles Championship during her career, joining four-time qualifiers Dasso and Hall, three-time participant Crabtree, and Melissa Harris (1991 & ’92) and Tracy Barton (1990 & ’91), who both qualified twice.
More than half of Salas’ matches in 2003-04 — 21 of 40 — were against players who gained bids to the NCAA singles tournament. She faced 16 different players, going 9-12 against them.
The Thompson sisters, ranked 36th, are one of six Midwest Region teams to earn a spot in the doubles event. Indiana’s #25 Sarah Batty/Linda Tran and #3 Grier/Rush of Northwestern garnered the two automatic bids, while Illinois’ #15 Cynthya Goulet/McGaffigan, #41 DaCosta/Kara Delicata of Michigan, and #42 Lindsay Martin/McGaffigan of Wisconsin joined the Irish duo in earning at-large places.
The Thompsons are 21-15 on the season with four victories against ranked foes, highlighted by an upset of then-second-ranked Grier/Rush. No all-freshman Irish team has ever previously participated in the NCAA doubles tournament. In fact, Crabtree is the only Notre Dame rookie to appear in the event.
The Thompsons played nine matches against teams that qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship, winning twice.
Since 1989, Notre Dame competitors have garnered 19 invitations to the national singles tournament and 11 to the doubles event.
The singles championship will begin May 24 with opening-round play and will continue with one round per day. The doubles tournament, featuring a field of 32, starts the 25th and also proceeds with one round each day. A full list of all qualifiers can be found on www.ncaasports.com. The Tennis Channel will show the singles and doubles finals in a tape-delayed program, first airing June 4 at 6 p.m. EST.
Salas and the Thompsons will first lead Notre Dame in the NCAA Team Championship, which gets underway May 15. The Irish, ranked 29th with an 11-11 record and one of the No. 17-32 seeds, will face #38 Iowa at 10 a.m. (CDT) at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.