May 24, 2001
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Notre Dame four-time All-American women’s tennis player and 2001 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Senior Player-of-the-Year Michelle Dasso (Long Grove, Ill./Stevenson HS) used a late rally once again to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA singles championships at the Lincoln Tennis Center in Stone Mountain, Ga. Her 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win over Ohio State’s 27th-ranked Kristy Dascoli advanced Dasso to her second straight ITA grand slam semifinal. The fourth-seeded Dasso will meet Stanford’s top-seeded and defending NCAA champion Laura Granville at 10:00 a.m. in Friday’s semifinals.
“It was a very tough match,” said Dasso, who won a pair of three-set matches on Wednesday after twice losing the first set. “I won the first set but wasn’t aggressive enough in the second set. I really had to get my mind back into it and be more aggressive. I was hurting this morning after the matches yesterday. As the match went on I was running on adrenaline which kept me going. I’m a senior, and once I lose my college career is over, so that’s more motivation for me.”
Dascoli, who beat Dasso and junior All-American Becky Varnum in the second round of the NCAA doubles competition on Wednesday night, led 4-2 in the third set and was two points from victory with a 30-0 lead on Dasso’s serve at 5-4 in the decisive set. Dasso, who also trailed 2-4 in the third set in her third-round win over Washington’s No. 9-16 seed and 11th-ranked Kristina Kraszewski, rallied once again to advance.
The win marks the third for Dasso in three meetings with Dascoli this year. The two regional rivals also met in the final of the ITA Midwest Singles Championship and at No. 1 singles in Notre Dame’s dual-match win at Ohio State.
The semifinal appearance marks the best finish ever for an Irish women’s tennis player at the NCAA Division I singles championship and continues a strong grand slam season for Dasso. She became the first Irish women’s tennis player to reach a grand slam final at the T. Rowe Price National Clay Court Championships in September. Dasso also made the quarterfinals at the Riviera All-American Championships in October and advanced to the semifinals at the Rolex National Intercollegiate Championships. Her semifinal appearance at the Rolex National Intercollegiate Championships ended with a straight-set loss to Granville in their only collegiate meeting.