May 20, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – After going undefeated at the No. 3 doubles position during the tournament, freshman Shannon Mathews and junior Colleen Rielley have been named to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship All-Tournament Team.
Mathews and Rielley are the first Irish players to ever be selected for the all-tournament squad.
The Irish duo went 5-0 in this year’s NCAA tournament and clinched the doubles point in three different matches, including the quarterfinal and semifinal contests.
Mathews and Rielley topped Illinois Chicago’s Jenna Reisch and Ulrikke von Ubisch, 8-0, to jump-start the tournament, then rallied from a 0-3 deficit to clinch the doubles point over Michigan’s Lindsey Howard and Denise Muresan. The Irish team topped Clemson’s Alexandra Luc and Frederica van Andrichem, 8-2, in the round of 16, before clinching the doubles point against Baylor with a victory over Nina Secerbegovic and Kasia Siwosz in the quarterfinals.
Junior Colleen Rielley went 27-8 this season with doubles partner Shannon Mathews.
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Mathews and Rielley ended their season with an 8-5 point-clinching win over California’s Bojana Bobusic and Stephany Change in the NCAA semifinals.
Mathews and Rielley finished the season with a 27-8 overall record and a 25-8 mark in dual matches, while helping the Irish to their best NCAA performance in school history.
NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship All-Tournament Team
Tournament MVP: Reka Zsilinszka, Duke
Doubles
1. Mari Andersson/Jana Juricova, California
2. Julia Cohen/Bianca Eichkorn, Miami
3. Shannon Mathews/Colleen Rielley, Notre Dame
Singles
1. Chelsey Gullickson, Georgia
2. Lenka Broosova, Baylor
3. Reka Zsilinszka, Duke
4. Amanda Granson, Duke
5. Melissa Mang, Duke
6. Cameron Ellis, Georgia
–ND–