July 25, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s tennis team and head coach Jay Louderback have announced the 2012-13 schedule. The Irish open play at the Indiana Invitational (Sept. 28-30) for the second consecutive year, and return six players from last season’s 21-8 squad that went a perfect 5-0 in conference play.
“Our fall season is going to be a little different than normal. We have a couple of individual tournaments where we won’t be sending our full team,” Louderback said. “We will be splitting the team up to get our players around to play in different events and compete in some good tournaments.”
The All-American Invitational (Oct. 2-7) and the Midwest Regional (Oct. 18-23) are the lone events on the schedule in October. Irish players participating in the Midwest Regional will look to earn a bid to the National Individual Indoor Championships Nov. 8-11.
Following the adidas Invitational Nov. 2-4 in Portland, Ore., Notre Dame players not entered in the National Individual Indoor Championships will travel to either the Western Michigan Invitational in Kalamazoo, Mich., or the Lakewood Ranch Invitational in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. Nov. 9-11.
Dual matches begin for the Irish in January, as Bowling Green (Jan. 18) travels to the Eck Tennis Pavilion for the season’s home opening contest. Notre Dame then heads to Illinois on Jan. 20 before taking part in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Jan. 26-27 in Lincoln, Neb. Georgia Tech, Tennessee and host Nebraska are also scheduled to participate in the tournament.
“The spring will be tough, as always. Our second week in we play the kick-off classic in Lincoln, and the winner goes to the National Team Indoor Championships,” Louderback said. “The four of us were all in the top 25 last year, and that will be great for (Notre Dame) because it is basically the National Team Indoor before the actual National Team Indoor. We also get to play at Illinois for the second time this season before they host the NCAA Tournament.”
The month of February opens with the Irish hosting Tennessee (Feb. 2) at the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Showdowns at Iowa (Feb. 4) and a potential appearance at the National Team Indoor in Charlottesville, Va. (Feb. 8-11) set the stage for a home tilt with Purdue Feb. 15. The remainder of the month will see Notre Dame travel to Northwestern Feb. 17, host Baylor Feb. 22, visit in-state foe Indiana Feb. 24 and return home Feb. 28 against Western Michigan.
The Irish open their first multi-match homestand of 2012-13 when they entertain DePaul March 2 and Duke March 3. Non-conference trips to Georgia (March 12) and Georgia Tech (March 16) follow before Notre Dame returns home to host Michigan (March 20) and TCU (March 23). The Irish close the month at Tulsa on March 30.
The trek toward the postseason heats up in April, when Notre Dame opens the month in Milwaukee, Wis., against Marquette (April 2). The Irish then close the 2012-13 home slate April 7 against Memphis. A swing through the “Sunshine State,” with matches at Central Florida (April 13) and South Florida (April 14), cap Notre Dame’s regular season schedule.
The BIG EAST Championships are set to get underway April 18-21 at a location yet to be determined. Draws for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships will take place May 11-12 at various campus sites.
The 2013 Women’s Division I Tennis Championships will be held May 17-27 at the Khan Outdoor Complex and Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Ill.
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