Sophomore Kristy Frilling will compete in both the NCAA singles and doubles tournaments this week.

Matches Set for NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship

May 25, 2010

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Senior Kali Krisik (Arkansas City, Kan.) and sophomore Kristy Frilling (Sidney, Ohio) are set to compete in the 2010 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, beginning Thursday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

Frilling enters the singles tournament as a 9-16 seed, while she will team with Krisik as the No. 3 seed in the doubles draw. Frilling is the first Irish player to enter the singles tournament as one of the top 16 seeds since Michelle Dasso earned the No. 4 seed in 2001.

This will be the second straight appearance in both the singles and doubles tournaments for Frilling, who earned All-America status last season as the second-seeded doubles team with former partner Kelcy Tefft. Frilling advanced to the second round of both draws a year ago. This will be Krisik’s first appearance in the individual championships.

Frilling is ranked 16th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll with a 21-7 record at No. 1 singles. She was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year and earned all-conference honors after totaling 16 wins over ranked opponents this season.

Frilling and Krisik are the nation’s third-ranked doubles team and are a perfect 25-0 in dual matches in 2010. Krisik was named the BIG EAST Championship’s Most Outstanding Player after leading the Irish to their third straight conference title and earned all-league honors for the second consecutive season.

The 16th-ranked Frilling will take on No. 17 Josipa Bek of Clemson at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday. The two sophomores met in last year’s NCAA Singles Championship second round with Bek taking the 6-3, 6-4 victory to end Frilling’s season. Bek is currently 28-13 overall and 18-9 in dual matches. The 2009 All-American and two-time all-ACC selection is 15-13 against nationally-ranked opponents this season.

The third-ranked Irish doubles duo will face North Carolina’s 13th-ranked Sanaz Marand and Sophie Grabinski in first-round action. The Tar Heel tandem is 25-14 overall this season with a 12-9 mark in dual matches. Making their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Doubles Championship, Marand and Grabinski were named All-Americans last season. The two teams met earlier this season when North Carolina visited the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Frilling and Krisik earned the 8-4 victory over Marand and Grabinski, but the Tar Heels managed to edge the Irish, 5-2, for the match.

This is the eighth year in a row that the Irish have had a player selected to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship and the fourth straight to be represented in the doubles tournament. Notre Dame has had 12 different players selected for the national tournament on 22 occasions, while 16 doubles team have earned a bid.

Sixty-four singles players and 32 doubles teams are selected for the NCAA Championships. Match times for the doubles draw will be announced later.

Live stats and video of the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be available at www.ncaa.com. Check UND.com for a complete recap of each Irish match.

–ND–