March 19, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame will head south to continue Atlantic Coast Conference play with matches at Florida State and Georgia Tech on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
The No. 32 Irish will return to the Sunshine State for the second time in two weeks, having spent part of Spring Break training and competing in Florida. They will face the No. 67 Seminoles (8-5, 2-3 ACC) at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee. On Sunday, they’ll take on the No. 57 Yellow Jackets (5-6, 2-3 ACC) at noon EDT at the Byers Tennis Complex in Atlanta.
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SIZING UP THE SEMINOLES: Notre Dame and Florida State (8-5, 2-3 ACC) have met just twice in their history, with the Irish claiming victory in both matches. Notre Dame defeated the Seminoles 6-1 last season at the Eck Tennis Pavilion, when Florida State was ranked 25th in the country and the Irish ranked 31st. The Seminoles rank 67th heading into Friday’s match, coming off two straight wins, including a 4-3 decision over No. 57 Georgia Tech. Florida State is 3-5 against ranked opponents this year.
AGAINST THE YELLOW JACKETS: Notre Dame is 4-5 all-time against Georgia Tech in a series that has been played each year since 2007. The Yellow Jackets won the first three meetings, but the Irish have won three of the last four. They will look to even the series and avenge last season’s 4-3 loss at the Eck Tennis Pavilion when they visit Atlanta this weekend. Georgia Tech (5-6, 2-3 ACC), ranked 57th in the current ITA poll, has lost two straight matches and are 3-6 against ranked opponents this season.
THE ODD COUPLE: Since starting the season 2-2, 21st-ranked doubles tandem Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson have been on a tear of late, winning their last four doubles matches and eight of their last nine for an 9-3 record at No. 1 singles. The pair bring differing but complementary styles to the court, with Gleason the more outspoken teammate and Robinson the more reserved.
TOP-NOTCH GLEASON: Junior Quinn Gleason currently ranks 13th all-time in Irish history in singles dual-match winning percentage (minimum 20 matches). Her 44-18 (.710) record thus far puts her just behind Melissa Harris (’92, .712) and ahead of former teammates Jennifer Kellner (’14, .700, 14th) and Britney Sanders (’14, .660, 16th).
RANKINGS UPDATE: In the latest ITA team poll (March 17), Notre Dame fell four spots to No. 32 after splitting weekend matches against No. 1 North Carolina (L, 2-5) and No. 73 Boston College (W, 5-2). In the latest individual polls (March 10), Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson held steady at No. 21 in the doubles rankings, while Allison Miller and Julie Vrabel entered the poll for the first time at No. 55.
CONFERENCE CONFIDENCE: The Irish are off to a 4-2 start in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which has bested their introduction to the ACC last year. Last season, Notre Dame opened the conference slate 0-4 before going 8-2 the rest of the season to finish 7th (of 15) in the standings. The Irish currently sit in sixth place behind Miami, Duke, North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia.
RETURN TO REGULAR SCORING: The Atlantic Coast Conference has moved to re-implement the regular scoring format utilized in 2014. To begin the season, matches have been played with no-ad scoring, based on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s recommendations for increasing pace of play. Going forward, all conference matches will once again include an eight-game pro-set for the doubles point with a tiebreak at 7-7, and advantage scoring will be used. For women’s play, doubles play will be stopped once the doubles point is clinched, and singles will utilize a match tiebreak (first to 10 by two) in lieu of a third set once the match is clinched.
Joanne Norell, Media Relations Assistant
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