April 27, 2017
By Joanne Norell
ROME, Ga. – The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team’s stay at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship came to an end Thursday as the 10th-seeded Irish fell to seventh-seeded Clemson 4-0 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College.
How It Happened
The Tigers snared the doubles point, winning on Courts 1 and 3. Marie Leduc and Ayan Broomfield defeated seniors Mary Closs and Monica Robinson 6-1 on Court 1, while Fernanda Navarro and Daniela Ruiz cinched the point with a 6-4 win over Jane Fennelly and Zoe Spence.
Clemson then took the first set in five of six singles matches and never looked back. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead when Constanza Gorches downed Closs 6-2, 6-1 on Court 5. Then, Fernanda Navarro defeated junior Allison Miller 6-4, 6-1 on Court 3. Sydney Riley clinched it for the Tigers with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Spence on Court 4.
Sophomore Rachel Chong led Ruiz 7-5, 4-1 when her match was abandoned on Court 6. Both Robinson and junior Brooke Broda had dropped first-set tiebreakers and were early in their second sets.
Up Next
The Irish will learn their NCAA Championship fate at 5:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, May 2, during the NCAA Selection Show on NCAA.com.
Scoreboard
No. 39 Clemson 4 No. 33 Notre Dame 0
April 27. 2017
Rome Tennis Center
Rome, Ga.
SINGLES
1. No. 87 Monica Robinson (ND) vs. Marie Leduc (CU) 6-7(5), 3-2, unfinished.
2. Brooke Broda (ND) vs. No. 89 Ayan Broomfield (CU) 6-7(3), 0-2, unfinished
3. Fernanda Navarro (CU) def. Allison Miller (ND) 6-4, 6-1
4. Sydney Riley (CU) def. Zoe Spence (ND) 6-4, 6-2
5. Constanza Gorches (CU) def. Mary Closs (ND) 6-2, 6-1
6. Rachel Chong (ND) vs. Daniela Ruiz (CU) 7-5, 4-1, unfinished
DOUBLES
1. Marie Leduc / Ayan Broomfield (CU) def. Mary Closs / Monica Robinson (ND) 6-1
2. Brooke Broda / Allison Miller (ND) vs. Constanza Gorches / Syndey Riley (ND) 4-4, unfinished
3. Fernanda Navarro / Daniela Ruiz (CU) def. Jane Fennelly / Zoe Spence (ND) 6-4
— ND —
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director 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, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.