Oct. 24, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Sophomore Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) lost just six games in posting a straight-set victory against the nation’s 79th-ranked player Sunday at the Baseline Tennis Center to advance to the singles quarterfinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Championships. She is the lone remaining Notre Dame competitor alive in the tournament of the top players in the region.
Thompson, ranked 103rd nationally, topped #79 Meg Racette, Iowa’ No. 1 player, 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday. The Irish sophomore now stands 6-0 on the fall, and she holds a 24-3 career record when winning the first set. Thompson also now boasts a 16-6 mark in indoor play. It was her second win against a ranked player this season and the fourth of her career.
Freshman Brook Buck (Yukon, Okla./Oklahoma Christian School) had her singles run come to an end on Sunday against the #1 player in college tennis, Cristelle Grier of Northwestern, who prevailed 6-4, 6-1 in a round-of-16 encounter. Buck was one of just three rookies who made it to the final 16 in singles. She holds a 7-3 record in her first collegiate semester.
Buck and junior Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) nearly upset the top-seeded team in doubles action, but came up just short, losing 9-7 against the Michigan duo of Michelle DaCosta and Kara Delicata, which is ranked #8 in the nation. The Notre Dame pair, now 9-2 on the season, had knocked off one of the No. 5-8 seeds on Saturday.
The ITA Midwest Championships is an indoor singles and doubles tournament for the top players in the Midwest Region – which consists of every Big Ten Conference team but Penn State, as well as other area schools. It is one of eight regional tournaments taking place across the country this month. The event consists of main draws of 64 in both singles and doubles, with eight spots in singles reserved for winners of a 64-player qualifying bracket. The singles finalists and doubles champions earn automatic entry into the second leg of the collegiate grand slam, the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, slated for Nov. 4-7 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
ITA Midwest Championships
Singles – Round of 16
#103 Catrina Thompson (Notre Dame) def. #79 Meg Racette (Iowa) 6-4, 6-2
#1 Cristelle Grier (Northwestern) def. Brook Buck (ND) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles – Quarterfinals
[1] #8 Michelle DaCosta/Kara Delicata (Michigan) def. Buck/Lauren Connelly (ND) 9-7
Note: Seedings are in brackets preceding national rankings, which precede names.