Feb. 22, 2008
The 15th ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team appeared to be in trouble Friday afternoon in Winston-Salem as the Irish dropped the first two singles matches that were complete and were in close first sets in three others. But Notre Dame was able to capture all three of those first sets and would go on to win all three matches and earn the 4-3 win over Wake Forest.
Kelcy Tefft had another impressive day for the Irish, as she once again won both of her matches. A convincing 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles position with Brook Buck propelled the team to earn the doubles point. Tefft and Buck were victorious over Sasha Kulikova and Alex Hirsch, the 28th ranked team in college tennis, 8-4. The duo earned their fourth consecutive win and 20th overall this season.
Tefft also earned the first singles win of the afternoon for Notre Dame, besting Wake Forest’s Alex Hirsch 7-6, 6-2. The Irish junior battled to win the first set, and it appeared the second set would be just as close as it was tied 2-2 early. Tefft asserted herself, however, and captured the match’s final four games to win her 11th singles match of the dual season against only one loss. She has also won four of five matches at number one singles and is 4-0 this weekend.
After Tefft’s win knotted the match at two apiece, junior Katie Potts gave the Irish a lead they would not relinquish. Potts defeated Emilee Malvehy by a familiar 7-6, 6-2 score. She used the momentum from a first set tiebreak win to jump out to a 5-0 second set lead and cruise to the easy second set win. Potts earned her 13th win on the season and ran her dual singles mark to 6-6.
Kali Krisik earned her second singles win in as many days to clinch the match for the Irish. The sophomore defeated Katarina Reveche 7-5, 6-4 in a grueling match. After battling to win the first set, Krisik jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set before dropping consecutive games to the Demon Deacon to make the score 5-4. She was able to gather herself to hold on and earn her 11th win of the spring, tying her with Kelcy Tefft for most dual wins on the team.
Colleen Rielley lost a close three-set match for the second straight day, this time falling to Sierra Poske 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 to provide the final margin. The loss dropped Rielley’s record to 5-6 this spring.
The Demon Deacons jumped out to the early lead on the strength of wins at the second and third singles positions. Sasha Kulikova bested Brook Buck 6-1, 7-5 at number two while Christian Tara posted a convincing 6-1, 6-4 win over Cosmina Ciobanu. Buck’s record falls to 3-8 this spring while Ciobanu fell to 4-8.
Wake Forest appeared to have control in doubles as well when Christian Tara and Ana Jerman blanked Kristen Rafael and Krisik 8-0 at the number two position. But Buck and Tefft evened the doubles competition with their win and Rielley and Cioabanu clinched the doubles point. The sophomore duo defeated Malvehy and Poske 8-5 at number three.
Notre Dame will conclude its three-match road trip Sunday when it battles No. 6 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels fell 5-2 Friday to No. 2 Northwestern and are now 6-4 this season. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
#15 Notre Dame 4, #19 Wake Forest 3
Singles
No. 1: #59 Kelcy Tefft (ND) d. Alex Hirsch (WF) 7-6, 6-2 No. 2: Sasha Kulikova (WF) d. Brook Buck (ND) 6-1, 7-5 No. 3: Christian Tara (WF) d. Cosmina Ciobanu (ND) 6-1, 6-4 No. 4: Sierra Poske (WF) d. Colleen Rielley (ND) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 No. 5: Katie Potts (ND) d. Emilee Malvehy (WF) 7-6, 6-2 No. 6: Kali Krisik (ND) d. Katarina Reveche (WF) 7-5, 6-4 Order of finish: 3, 2, 1, 5, 6*, 4
Doubles
No. 1: #3 Buck/Tefft (ND) d. Kulikova/Hirsch (WF) 8-4 No. 2: Ana Jerman/Tara (WF) d. Kristen Rafael/Krisik (ND) 8-0 No. 3: Rielley/Ciobanu (ND) d. Malvehy/Poske (WF) 8-5 Order of finish: 2, 1, 3*