Oct. 23, 2015
By Joanne Norell
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team turned in a successful first day of competition Friday at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships at the Varsity Tennis Center at the University of Michigan.
Both Irish entries in the doubles main draw advanced to the Round of 16, as duo Brooke Broda and Rachel Chong and teammates Mary Closs and Allison Miller each received first-round byes and picked up wins in the Round of 32.
Sophomore Broda and freshman Chong defeated Michigan’s Kate Fahey and Kara Hall, 8-7(4) in a second-round matchup. Junior Closs and sophomore Miller soundly sent Western Michigan’s Barbare Eristavi and Ella Perinovic, 8-1.
Play continues Saturday with the doubles Round of 16, followed by the first and second rounds of main draw singles play. Irish senior Quinn Gleason, ranked 93rd in the Oracle/ITA preseason singles rankings, is the tournament’s top seed and will receive a first-round bye, as will the 10th-seeded Miller. Closs, Chong and Broda will each play in the first round beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
To keep up with all things Irish women’s tennis, be sure to follow @NDWomensTennis on Twitter and like Notre Dame Women’s Tennis on Facebook.
ITA Midwest Regional Championships
October 22-27, 2015
Varsity Tennis Center
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday
Doubles Main Draw – Round of 64
Brooke Broda / Rachel Chong (ND), bye
Mary Closs / Allison Miller (ND), bye
Doubles Main Draw – Round of 32
Brooke Broda / Rachel Chong (ND) def. Kate Fahey / Kara Hall (UM), 8-7(4)
Mary Closs / Allison Miller (ND) def. Barbare Eristavi / Ella Perinovic (WMU), 8-1
Saturday
Doubles Main Draw – Round of 16
Brooke Broda / Rachel Chong (ND) vs. Louise Kwong / Ines Vias (UI), 9 a.m.
Mary Closs / Allison Miller (ND) vs. Ferny Angeles Paz / Sandy Niehaus (OSU), 9 a.m.
Singles Main Draw – Round of 64
[1] No. 93 Quinn Gleason (ND), bye
[10] Allison Miller (ND), bye
Mary Closs (ND) vs. Grace Summers (EIU), 10 a.m.
Rachel Chong (ND) vs. Jaclyn Switkes (UI), 10 a.m.
Brook Broda (ND) vs. Ferny Angeles Paz (OSU), 11 a.m.
-ND-
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University and earned her master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2013.