January 23, 1999

MINNESOTA, Minn. – The 16th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis lost a tight 5-4 match to 15th-ranked Pepperdine in the final of the Federated Insurance Court Classic on Saturday at the University of Minnesota. The Irish won the first four singles matches to take a 4-0 lead but the Waves won a pair of thre- set singles matches and then swept the doubles to complete the 5-4 win.

Michelle Dasso beat Pepperdine’s Angela Lawrence 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, and Jennifer Hall beat Ipek Senoglu 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. Becky Varnum and Kelly Zalinski won in straight sets at Nos. 4 and 5 singles for Notre Dame’s four wins.

Pepperdine rallied for three-set wins at No. 3 and 6 singles and won all three doubles matches. Lawrence and Senoglu edged Dasso and Hall 9-8 (8-6) at No. 1 doubles in the last match on the court to clinch the win for the Waves.

The Irish are now 1-1 on the season after beating DePaul on Friday. Notre Dame returns to action when it travels to Oklahoma City, Okla., to take on Kansas State on Sat., Jan. 30, at 2:00 p.m.

PEPPERDINE 5, NOTRE DAME 4

Singles

No. 1: Michelle Dasso (ND) def. Angela Lawrence (P)         6-1, 6-2No. 2: Jennifer Hall (ND) def. Ipek Senoglu (P)        6-3, 3-6, 6-1No. 3: Nicola Kaiwai (P) def. Marisa Velasco (ND)      6-4, 4-6, 6-1No. 4: Becky Varnum (ND) def. Anh Nguyen (P)                6-3, 6-3No. 5: Kelly Zalinski (ND) def. Nadine Rastetter            6-2, 6-0No. 6: Cintia Tortorella (P) def. Lindsey Green (ND)   4-6, 6-0, 6-4

Doubles

No. 1: Lawrence/Senoglu (P) def. Dasso/Hall (ND)                 9-8 (6)No. 2: Kaiwai/Paula Palencia (P) def. Varnum/Velasco (ND)        8-5No. 3: Nguyen/Rastetter (P) def. Nina Vaughan/Zalinski (ND)      8-4