CARY, North Carolina — The Notre Dame women’s tennis team used a 4-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon to advance to the second round of the ACC Women’s Tennis Championship. The Irish (13-11) won the doubles point and got singles victories from Ally Bojczuk, Brooke Broda and Rachel Chong in the win over Pitt (4-17).
The 10th-seeded Fighting Irish advanced to the second round to face No. 7 seed Virginia. The match is set for 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, at the Cary Tennis Park.
How It Happened
Notre Dame quickly saw its No. 50 doubles team of Cameron Corse and Zoe Spence take a 6-1 decision over Pitt’s Gabriela Rezende and Claudia Bartolome. With the doubles point at stake, the duo of senior Rachel Chong and graduate student Brooke Broda won a 7-5 decision from Clara Lucas and Camila Moreno at three doubles. Maeve Koscielski and Zoe Taylor were tied 6-6 with Natsumi Okamoto and Luisa Varon when the point was clinched.
The Panthers evened the score with the first singles match, as Varon scored a 6-2, 6-1 win over Spence (No. 66), to make the score 1-1. Notre Dame responded with three victories to take the match.
First came at three singles, where Bojczuk took a 6-0, 6-2 win from Moreno. Next was at four where Broda won a 6-2, 6-3 match from Rezende. The clincher came at six singles, with Chong taking a 6-3, 6-2 decision from Okamoto.
Silverio’s Story
Head coach Alison Silverio on the match
“It’s great to be at the ACC tournament. It’s a wonderful event and the courts were great. They’re probably medium speed (courts) so they work well to our style. We came out at the beginning of the match and had some emotions and worked some kinks out, but what’s great about a tournament setting is you want to get better and better. As the match went on, we started playing better and better and executing more. Hats off to Pitt. They gave us everything we could handle and battled through the finish. Credit to our team for staying disciplined and working from point to point. Overall, it was a very positive day and back to business tomorrow.”
Match Notes
- Bojczuk improved to 17-12 in singles action this year.
- Broda now stands 19-9 in singles play during 2018-19.
- Chong competed in singles action for the first time since March 17 as she has battled injuries during her senior campaign.
- Corse and Spence improved to 12-7 in doubles action this year and the pair has won three straight.
- Notre Dame improved to 9-0 all-time against the Panthers in Pitt’s final match after the university announced it would discontinue the program in January.
Scoreboard
Notre Dame 4, Pitt 1
Apr 17, 2019 at Cary, N.C. (Cary Tennis Park)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Luisa Varon (UP) def. #66 Zoe Spence (ND) 6-2, 6-1 |
| 2. Cameron Corse (ND) vs. Claudia Bartolome (UP) 7-5, 3-0, unfinished |
| 3. Ally Bojczuk (ND) def. Camila Moreno (UP) 6-0, 6-2 |
| 4. Brooke Broda (ND) def. Gabriela Rezende (UP) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 5. Maeve Koscielski (ND) vs. M. Perez Noguera (UP) 7-6 (7-4), 0-3, unfinished |
| 6. Rachel Chong (ND) def. Natsumi Okamoto (UP) 6-3, 6-2 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. #50 Cameron Corse/Zoe Spence (ND) def. Gabriela Rezende/Claudia Bartolome (UP) 6-1 |
| 2. Maeve Koscielski/Zoe Taylor (ND) vs. Natsumi Okamoto/Luisa Varon (UP) 6-6, unfinished |
| 3. Rachel Chong/Brooke Broda (ND) def. Clara Lucas/Camila Moreno (UP) 7-5 |
| Match Notes |
| Pitt 4-17 |
| Notre Dame 13-11 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,3,4,6) |
| ACC Championship – First Round |
Up Next
The Fighting Irish and Cavaliers will meet with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line Thursday, April 18. Action is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Cary Tennis Park.