April 2, 2015
Live Results – Wake Forest
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team will head east this weekend for its penultimate road trip of the season to face Atlantic Coast Conference opponents Wake Forest and No. 34 Virginia Tech on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
The 40th-ranked Irish (12-6, 6-3 ACC) will look to run their winning streak to eight against the Demon Deacons (12-9, 2-7 ACC) when they face off at noon EDT on Friday at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Notre Dame will then square off with the Hokies (12-5, 4-4 ACC) at noon EDT on Sunday at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.
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IRISH NOTABLES
SIZING UP THE DEACS: Notre Dame is 13-9 all-time against Wake Forest, and the Irish are riding a seven-match win streak against the Demon Deacons that dates back to 2005. Last season, the Irish downed the Deacs 7-0 at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Wake Forest has lost three of its last four matches and are just 2-7 against ACC opponents this season. The Demon Deacons’ lone ACC wins came against Louisville and Pittsburgh in mid-March, both in 6-1 decisions. The Irish also hold wins over the Cardinals and Panthers, each 4-3 decisions back in February.
RUNDOWN ON THE HOKIES: No. 34 Virginia Tech has won three straight matches and jumped ahead 13 spots in the ITA team poll this week after beating then-No. 16 Miami on Sunday. The Irish are 7-0 all-time against the Hokies (12-5, 4-4 ACC), including a 7-0 victory last season at home. This year, Virginia Tech is undefeated at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center. The Hokies boast two ranked players in No. 86 Francesca Fusinato and No. 106 Ilinca Stoica, and Fusinato is also the reigning ACC Player of the Week following her role in the Hokies’ win over the Hurricanes.
RANKINGS UPDATE: In the latest ITA team poll (March 31), Notre Dame fell four spots to No. 40 despite notching a pair of wins over North Carolina State and Marquette. In the latest individual polls (March 24), Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson moved up a spot to No. 20 in the doubles rankings.
DOUBLE DUTY: Since starting the season 2-2, 20th-ranked doubles tandem Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson have been on a tear of late, winning nine of their last 11 for an 11-4 dual match record at No. 1 doubles. The pair also top the Irish singles lineup, with Gleason holding a 9-7 record at No. 1 and Robinson posting an 10-8 record between No. 1 and No. 2.
ACC DOUBLES STANDOUTS: The Atlantic Coast Conference owns seven of the top 30 spots in the ITA Doubles rankings, with No. 20 Quinn Gleason and Monica Robinson ranking fourth among those pairs.
TOP-NOTCH GLEASON: Junior Quinn Gleason currently ranks 15th all-time in Irish history in singles dual-match winning percentage (minimum 20 matches). Her 46-20 (.697) record thus far puts her just behind former teammate Jennifer Kellner (’14, .700, T-14th) and ahead of Britney Sanders (’14, .660, 16th).
CONFERENCE CONFIDENCE: The Irish are 6-3 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 are currently tied for fifth place behind North Carolina, Duke, Miami, Virginia and Clemson.
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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