Sept. 30, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame junior women’s tennis player Nina Vaughan and freshman Alicia Salas advanced to the Eck Classic final of the Flight A doubles on the second of three days Saturday at the Courtney Tennis Center. Vaughan and Salas beat Wisconsin’s April Gabler and Linde Mues 8-4 to set up the final on Sunday against Western Michigan’s Larissa Chinwah and Meaghan Colville. The tournament concludes on Sunday with play beginning at 9:00 a.m.

In Flight A singles, Vaughan and Irish freshman Caylan Leslie each won second-round matches before falling in the semifinals. Leslie defeated Iowa’s Cassie Haas 6-4, 6-0 but lost 6-4, 6-3 to Northwestern’s Colleen Cheng. Vaughan downed Northwestern’s Shannon Duffy 6-3, 6-4 before losing 6-1, 6-4 to another Wildcat, Lia Jackson. Irish junior Lindsey Green lost her first Flight A consolation match of the day but rallied to beat Gabler 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and will play Purdue’s Erika Quebe on Sunday.

Senior Kimberly Guy will play in the fifth-place match of Flight B singles after beating Purdue’s Melissa Woods 6-2, 6-0. She will meet DePaul’s Melissa Iqbal on Sunday. Freshman Alicia Salas and Emily Neighbours each won a pair of consolation singles matches in Flight C. Juniors Berica Day and Michelle Hamilton also won consolation singles matches. Irish senior All-American and 18th-ranked Michelle Dasso and 78th-ranked junior Becky Varnum are not competing this weekend.

In the doubles competition, the 14th-ranked team of Cunha and Guy won 8-6 over Quebe and Karen Walgenbach, while Green and Leslie won 8-1 over Marquette’s Genieve Charron and Anabelle Espinosa in consolation matches in Flight A. Neighbours and senior Sarah Scaringe won in the consolation and will play for fifth place in Flight B. Day and Hamilton will take on Illinois State’s Shelby Lipson and Brigette Zarazee in the C doubles final.