Jan. 28, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 21st-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s tennis team will open its spring season this week with a trio of matches against Big Ten opponents. The Irish begin by traveling to #34 Michigan on Thursday for a 4 p.m. (EST) match and then will return home for matches against #47 Ohio State (Saturday, 11 a.m.) and #62 Wisconsin (Sunday, 11 a.m.) in the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Notre Dame returns nine monogram winners, including six starters, from last year’s team that finished 16-9, won the BIG EAST title, reached the second round of the NCAA tournament and finished 21st.
IRISH vs. WOLVERINES: Michigan, 34th in the preseason rankings, stands 1-0 this season after topping DePaul 6-1 on Jan. 17. Prior to that, the Wolverines participated in the Jan. 9-11 Michigan Invitational, posting hidden-dual victories over #29 Georgia Tech, #49 LSU, and Eastern Michigan. UM returns four starters from last year’s squad that was 14-9, finished seventh in the Big Ten Conference (5-5, tournament quarterfinals), and 38th in the final national rankings. The Wolverines beat Colorado in the first round of the NCAA Championship before falling to eventual national runner-up Stanford. Michigan has a pair of singles players and a doubles team in the national rankings. Elizabeth Exon is 37th in singles, making her the third-highest-ranked freshman in the country, while junior Michelle DaCosta is 92nd. DaCosta and classmate Leanne Rutherford are 47th in doubles. Head coach Bitsy Ritt is in her 20th season at the helm of the Michigan program, having compiled a 236-212 (.527) record.
Michigan and Notre Dame will meet for the 19th consecutive season and 22nd time overall. The Irish lead the series 14-7 and have won each of the last nine. This match will allow Michigan to tie Purdue as the third-most-common opponent in Irish varsity women’s tennis history (behind Northwestern’s 24 matches vs. ND and Illinois’ 23). The Wolverines won the initial meeting 8-1 in 1981, en route to victories in each of the first four contests between the schools. Michigan’s most recent triumph came in a 5-4 decision in Ann Arbor in 1994. This will be the 12th consecutive time that Notre Dame heads into the match with a higher national ranking than the Wolverines. Michigan holds a 6-5 advantage at home against the Irish, but Notre Dame has been victorious in each of its last four visits.
Last season, the 27th-ranked Irish beat the 28th-ranked Wolverines 5-2 in the Eck Tennis Pavilion on March 25, 2003. The doubles point came down to a tiebreaker in the No. 2 contest, in which Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) and Alicia Salas (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) topped Jen Deprez and Kim Plaushines 9-8 (7-3). The Irish then won four of six in singles, though DaCosta got a win over #51 Caylan Leslie (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar H.S.) at No. 1 when she retired, up a set and in a second-set tiebreaker. The Wolverines also won at No. 4, while the No. 5 match came down to a third-set tiebreaker.
IRISH vs. BUCKEYES: Ohio State, 47th in the preseason rankings, dropped its season opener against #10 Tennessee 4-3 on Sunday and then had a match with Xavier postponed due to inclement weather. Saturday’s match will be the only road contest in the Buckeyes’ first eight tilts. The Buckeyes return seven letterwinners, including six starters, from last season’s squad that was 12-12, finished in a fourth-place tie in the Big Ten (6-4, tournament quarterfinals), lost to Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and finished 47th in the rankings. The only starter lost from that squad was Sadhaf Pervez, who played No. 1 and finished the season ranked 85th in singles. Head coach Chuck Merzbacher is in his eighth year at the helm of the Ohio State program, having compiled a 102-77 (.570) mark. He is 235-139 (.628) in 15 years as a head coach.
Notre Dame and the Buckeyes will meet for the seventh consecutive season and 15th time overall, with the Irish holding an 11-3 advantage in the series, including eight straight victories. Over that span, Notre Dame has not given up more than two points in any match. Ohio State won three of four meetings from 1987-90, but those have been the only Buckeye wins in the series, with the most recent being a 7-2 decision in Columbus in ’90. Notre Dame is 5-1 at home against Ohio State, with the only blemish a 5-4 match in 1987 in the Buckeyes’ first-ever visit.
A year ago, the 48th-ranked Irish topped #35 OSU 5-2 on March 29 in Columbus. The doubles point came down to a tiebreaker in the No. 2 contest, in which Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) and Alicia Salas (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) topped Erica Fisk and Jackie Leskovar. The Irish then went on to win four straight-setters in singles. The Buckeye victories came from #53 Pervez at No. 1 over #33 Caylan Leslie (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar H.S.) and from Leskovar at No. 4 in a third-set tiebreaker.
IRISH vs. BADGERS: Wisconsin, 62nd in the preseason rankings, enters the weekend 2-0 after home victories over Drake (7-0) and Western Michigan (5-2) last weekend. The Badgers will play host to Northern Illinois on Friday before heading to Notre Dame. Wisconsin returns five letterwinners, including four starters, from last year’s team that was 11-12, finished sixth in the Big Ten (5-5, tournament quarterfinals), and ended 62nd in the national rankings. Back for the Badgers is senior Shana McElroy, who finished last season ranked 103rd nationally in singles. Head coach Patti Henderson is in her 10th season at the helm of the Wisconsin program, having compiled a 130-101 (.563) record. In 18 years overall as a head coach, she has a record of 198-146 (.576).
Notre Dame and Wisconsin will meet for the 14th consecutive season and 19th time overall, with the Irish holding a 12-6 advantage, including victories in each of the last seven regular-season contests. The teams have met three times in the NCAA tournament, with the Badgers winning in 1997 (at ND) and 2002, and the Irish prevailing in ’98. Wisconsin won the initial meeting between the schools, 9-0 in 1987. This will be the 10th consecutive match in which Notre Dame enters with a higher national ranking than the Badgers. The Irish are 4-3 at home against Wisconsin, though they have won three straight.
A season ago, #22 Notre Dame topped the 30th-ranked Badgers 5-2 on Jan. 26 in Madison. The doubles point came down to the No. 2 contest, in which Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) and Alicia Salas (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) topped McElroy and Lara Vojnov 8-6. Four of the singles matches went to third sets and the others were close straight-setters. Notre Dame won four of them, including three-set affairs at Nos. 3, 5, and 6.
ITA RANKINGS: Notre Dame enters the 2004 season ranked 21st by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) after finishing 2003 ranked in the same position. It marks the 14th consecutive season that the Irish are in the preseason top 25. Eighteen of the 20 Irish opponents are in the preseason rankings, including four in the top 10 and eight in the top 25.
Senior co-captain Alicia Salas (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) jumped 49 spots from her preseason listing to be 14th in the fall set of singles rankings, while freshman Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) was 88th. Salas and sophomore Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) are 39th in doubles. Salas is just the fifth Irish player ever to be listed among the nation’s top 15, joining Melissa Harris (’92), Wendy Crabtree (’95), Jennifer Hall (’99), and current assistant coach Michelle Dasso (’01). Thompson is the 14th-highest-ranked freshman in the national rankings. Senior co-captain Caylan Leslie (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar H.S.) was one of 12 players who were listed in the preseason singles rankings, but saw little or no action in the fall and thus had “insufficient data” to garner a ranking in this listing. She was 26th in the preseason, but then got injured in her second matche of the season.
In the Midwest Region singles rankings released at the end of the fall season, Salas was second in singles, while Thompson was 11th and her twin sister Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) came in 15th. In doubles, Salas and Connelly led the Irish at fifth, the Thompson twins were seventh, and junior Sarah Jane Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) and sophomore Kristina Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph’s Academy) were 15th. The Thompsons were one of just three all-freshman teams in the country to earn regional rankings.
FALL HIGHLIGHTS: Notre Dame’s fall included four individual tournaments, an exhibition victory over rival USC, and a renewed Irish presence in the collegiate grand slam events. Senior co-captain Alicia Salas’ (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) outstanding play highlighted the opening semester, as she defeated eight ranked players in posting an 11-6 record, with four of her defeats coming against top-10 foes. Salas reached the final of the ITA Midwest Championships and became the first Irish player in three years to play in the first two legs of the collegiate grand slam, battling through qualifying to the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships and then gaining entrance in the 32-player ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. Her win over #15 Luana Magnani clinched a 4-3 Irish exhibition victory against the Trojans, who finished last season ranked fifth nationally. Freshmen Catrina Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) and Christian Thompson (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman H.S.) were strong, with the former posting a pair of wins over ranked opponents and the latter going 12-5 in singles.
START ME UP: Notre Dame has won seven of its last eight season openers, nine of its last 10 home openers and 11 straight road opening matches. The only blemish on the former two streaks was a 4-3 loss to No. 4 Duke to open the 2001 season, though the Irish rebounded to finish 25-5. Notre Dame has not lost its first match of the season on an opponent’s home court since a 5-4 loss at Illinois to open the 1992 season. Under Jay Louderback, the Irish are 9-5 in season openers and 12-2 in both home openers and road openers.
SUPER SALAS: Senior co-captain Alicia Salas (Castle Rock, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) posted an 11-6 record in the fall season, defeating eight ranked opponents and taking her place as one of the elite players in college tennis. She fought through qualifying to reach the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships in October and then gained entrance to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships the following month due to her runner-up result in the ITA Midwest Championships. She is just the fourth Notre Dame player ever to take part in the first two legs of the collegiate grand slam, joining Melissa Harris (’92), Wendy Crabtree (’96), Jennifer Hall (’99), and current Irish assistant Michelle Dasso (’01). When she was listed 14th in the fall edition of the ITA national singles rankings, Salas joined those same four as the only Notre Dame players ever listed among the top 15 players in college tennis.
IRISH FACE TOUGH SLATE: The road to the 2004 NCAA Championship will be challenging for Notre Dame. Of the 20 dual-match opponents the Irish will face this season, 18 of them are among the 75 teams listed in the preseason ITA rankings and 12 earned berths in last year’s NCAA tournament. Highlighting Notre Dame’s schedule are four matches with teams in the preseason top 10 and eight with top-25 opponents. All four of the contests vs. top-10 teams will be away from home: vs. #4 Duke (March 10) and #10 Tennessee (March 13) in Wikaloa, Hawaii; at #9 North Carolina (March 28); and at #8 William & Mary (April 10). Among the top teams to come to Notre Dame are #14 Northwestern (April 15), #22 Miami (April 4), and #23 Illinois (March 4). The Irish also travel to #17 Virginia Commonwealth (Feb. 13) and #27 Texas (April 12).
TAKING A SHOT AT THE BEST: Notre Dame will get a shot at the preseaon No. 1 doubles team this spring, as Jessica Rush and Cristelle Grier of Northwestern (April 15, home) hold that distinction, leading four top-15 duos on the Irish schedule. The others are #5 Amanda Johnson/Tory Zawacki of Duke (March 10, Wikaloa, Hawaii), #10 Jennifer McGaffigan/Cynthia Goulet of Illinois (March 4, home), and #11 Megan Muth/Amy Wei of William & Mary (April 10, away). Four top-15 singles players – #4 Grier, #5 Johnson, #11 Megan Bradley of Miami (April 4, home), and #13 Tammy Encina of Tennessee (March 13, Wikaloa, Hawaii) – are also on the Irish dual-match slate. In all, 13 doubles teams and 27 singles players in the rankings are on the 2004 Irish schedule, as are two more players who were in the preseason singles rankings, but did not play in the fall and, thus, had “insufficient data” for listing in the most recent set.
BYU MATCH TIME CHANGED: The Feb. 20 match between Notre Dame and BYU has been moved up a half hour from the originally scheduled start time and will now begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Eck Tennis Pavilion. The change was made to accomodate the Cougars’ travel plans.
IRISH HEAD COACH: Jay Louderback is in his 15th season at Notre Dame with a 255-124 (.673) record and his 25th year as a collegiate coach with a 459-302 (.603) mark. He ranks fifth among active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories. Louderback’s Irish have finished in the national top 30 in each of the last 11 seasons, have won 11 conference titles and registered 20 or more victories five times in the last eight campaigns. Since the preseason of the 1995 season, Louderback’s teams have been ranked in the national top 25 in 130 of 134 sets of rankings. After taking over a program looking for its first NCAA tournament appearance, Louderback has helped Notre Dame to the NCAAs 10 times in the last 11 years, including five appearances in the round of 16 and a 1996 quarterfinal finish. Louderback, a four-time Midwest Region coach of the year, has been honored as his conference’s top coach on eight occasions, including five times in eight years in the BIG EAST. In his time at Notre Dame, Louderback’s players have earned All-America honors 13 times, won three national ITA awards, and earned 18 invitations to the NCAA singles championship and 10 to the NCAA doubles tournament. His players have dominated the University awards during Louderback’s tenure, leading all sports in both Byron V. Kanaley awards (five) and Francis Patrick O’Connor awards (five). His family was honored with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Tennis Family of the Year Award for 2002. The Arkansas City, Kan., native, and 1976 graduate of Wichita State arrived at Notre Dame prior to the 1989-90 season after coaching for seven years at his alma mater and three years (men and women) at Iowa State.
FORMER NATIONAL No. 1 BROOK BUCK HEADED FOR NOTRE DAME: Head coach Jay Louderback announced recently that Brook Buck (Yukon, Okla./Oklahoma Christian School) has signed a national letter of intent to enroll at Notre Dame and join his team in the fall of 2004. Buck, a three-time Oklahoma state singles champion, was ranked No. 1 in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) girls’ 16-and-under national rankings in January of this year before moving up to the 18-and-under age group. She had an outstanding year of 16s junior action in 2002. In addition to being the singles runner-up at the National Hardcourt Championships, she won three national doubles titles, claiming crowns in the Winter National Championships, the Spring Supernational Championships, and the Supernational Hardcourt Championships. A senior at Oklahoma Christian School, Buck won state No. 1 singles titles in class 3A in 2001, ’02, and ’03, and will go for another next spring. Despite only playing in the 18-and-under division since April of this year, Buck has earned a national ranking of 28th, which places her currently as the 10th-highest-ranked player who will enroll in college next fall.
KEEPING UP WITH NOTRE DAME TENNIS: For the fastest results of Notre Dame tennis matches, call the Notre Dame sports hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #8. The hotline provides schedule and results information for varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the game recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website at www.und.com. The hotline is the first medium updated with the results of each Notre Dame tennis match. In addition, media members and fans may be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting Bo Rottenborn at Rottenborn.2@nd.edu, or Eileen Carroll at ecarroll@nd.edu, who also can provide any information about the Irish tennis program.