Oct. 15, 1999

The Notre Dame women?s tennis team drop a 5-4 match to USC on Friday night at the Eck Tennis Pavilion after building a 4-3 lead. The Trojans won at Nos. 1 and 3 singles to complete the comeback. The match was played concurrently on six court with the Notre Dame-USC men?s tennis match with Nos. 4-6 singles first, then the three doubles matches and the Nos. 1-3 singles to conclude the match. Notre Dame played without seventh-ranked junior All-American Michelle Dasso, who is scheduled to play in the Riviera Women’s All-American Championships next week in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Kelly Zalinski gave the Irish a short-lived 4-3 lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win over 35th-ranked Jacqui Boyd at no. 2 singles. USC?s Jewel Peterson knotted the seesaw match at 4-4 when she beat Lindsey Green 6-4, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. The match was decided at No. 1 singles when 42nd-ranked Kara Warkentin beat 57th-ranked Becky Varnum 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to seal the win.

The teams entered the final three singles match tied 3-3 after the Trojans won two of the first three singles matches, and the Irish won two of the three doubles matches. Anita Loyola gave USC a 1-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Kimberly Guy at No. 4 singles. Nina Vaughan tied the match with a three-set 0-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 win over Veronika Safarova at No. 4 singles. Vaughan trailed 0-6, 0-3 in the match and saved a pair of match points at both 4-5 and 5-6 in the second set. Safarova then led 4-0 in the tiebreaker before Vaughan won six consecutive points and seven of the final eight to send the match to the third set. Tiffany Brymer rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles over Sarah Scaringe for a 2-1 USC lead heading into doubles.

Loyola and Peterson served with a 6-5 lead over Varnum and Vaughan at No. 3 doubles but the Irish sophomores won three straight games for an 8-6 win over the 43rd-ranked Trojan pair to tie the match at 2-2. Boyd and Safarova, ranked 38th, rallied from 3-6 down and saved a set point at 5-6 in the tiebreaker to beat Green and Zalinski 9-8 (8-6) at No. 2 doubles. Irish freshman Katie Cunha and Guy tied the match once again with a 9-7 win over 24th-ranked Brymer and Warkentin at No. 1 doubles.

USC 5, NOTRE DAME 4

Singles

No. 1: #42 Kara Warkentin (USC) def. #57 Becky Varnum (ND) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0

No. 2: Kelly Zalinski (ND) def. #35 Jacqui Boyd (USC) 6-3, 6-2

No. 3: Jewel Peterson (USC) def. Lindsey Green (ND) 6-4, 6-1

No. 4: Nina Vaughan (ND) def. Veronika Safarova (USC) 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1

No. 5: Anita Loyola (USC) def. Kimberly Guy (ND) 6-4, 6-3

No. 6: Tiffany Brymer (USC) def. Sarah Scaringe (ND) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4

Doubles

No. 1: Katie Cunha/Guy (ND) def. #24 Brymer/Warkentin (USC) 9-7

No. 2: #38 Boyd/Safarova (USC) def. Green/Zalinski (ND) 9-8 (8-6)

No. 3: Varnum/Vaughan (ND) def. #43 Loyola/Peterson (USC) 8-6

–ND–