March 23, 2003
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – No. 13 William & Mary (14-4) rallied from a 2-0 deficit and won a pair of three-set matches to edge #27 Notre Dame 4-3 in women’s tennis action on Sunday morning in the Eck Tennis Pavilion. Tribe freshman Megan Muth overcame a 4-1 deficit, down two service breaks, in the third set to defeat Notre Dame’s Alicia Salas (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) at No. 2 before William & Mary senior Nina Kamp came through with a three-set victory over freshman Kristina Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph’s Academy) at No. 4 with the match tied 3-3. The Irish (8-7), who won the doubles point before losing four of six in singles, will continue their last homestand of the season on Tuesday, playing host to #28 Michigan at 4 p.m. (EST).
Kamp improved to 16-6 this season and gave William & Mary its fourth win over a top-30 squad this season. She broke Stastny’s serve in each of the last three service games of the match for the Irish freshman to complete a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win.
After dropping the opening frame, Muth, ranked 82nd in the nation in singles, was down a service break, 4-3, in the second set before coming back to win three straight games and force a deciding frame. In the third set, she won the last five games to finish a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 triumph over #65 Salas.
The Irish appeared to have the match in hand at one point, leading 2-0 and doing well in three other matches. At that juncture, Notre Dame was up a set and a service break at No. 2, a set at No. 5, and a break of serve in the first set at No. 6.
Notre Dame junior Caylan Leslie (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar H.S.), ranked 51st in singles, continued her hot play by upsetting #26 Candice Fuchs 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1, finishing her match long before any others were completed for the second contest in a row. Leslie has won 10 of her last 11 matches and is 13-6 overall this season, including 5-1 since moving into the No. 1 spot for the first time in her career. The win was the seventh over a ranked opponent this season for Leslie and her second against a top-30 competitor. In her last four matches in the Eck Tennis Pavilion, Leslie has surrendered a total of just nine games, defeating three ranked players.
The Irish got off to a strong start by taking the doubles point in convincing fashion. Salas and freshman Lauren Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) continued their recent success with an 8-2 win at No. 2. The pair has won six straight matches and is 12-6 overall this season. Leslie and freshman Jennifer Smith (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg H.S.) were involved in the clinching match for the fifth time in the last six outings. The Irish team won 8-4 at No. 3 to improve to 5-2 this season. Fuchs and Kate Boomershine, the No. 15 doubles team in the nation, won 8-4 at No. 1 vs. Notre Dame’s 27th-ranked squad, Stastny and senior captain Katie Cunha (Mercer Island, Wash.).
Irish sophomore Sarah Jane Connelly (Oklahoma City, Okla./Bishop McGuinness H.S.) pulled the Irish to 3-3 with a 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 victory over Lena Sherbakov at No. 5. Connelly has won four in a row and is 17-10 this season.
Trailing 2-0, William & Mary got a pair of straight-set wins to move into position for victory. Amy Wei, ranked 114th in singles, came back from a break down in the first set at 4-1 to win 12 of the final 14 games in defeating Lauren Connelly 7-6 (7-4), 6-0. At No. 3, Boomershine topped Cunha 7-5, 6-3 to pull the Tribe even at 2-2.
Notre Dame is 0-7 this season against teams currently ranked in the top 20. Three of those losses have been by 4-3 scores (#10 Tennessee, #12 Kentucky, and #13 William & Mary) and another three were 5-2 affairs (#4 Duke, #7 Arizona State, #8 North Carolina).
#13 William & Mary 4, #27 Notre Dame 3
Singles
No. 1: #51 Caylan Leslie (ND) d. #26 Candice Fuchs (WM) 6-3, 6-1
No. 2: #82 Megan Muth (WM) d. #65 Alicia Salas (ND) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3: Kate Boomershine (WM) d. Katie Cunha (ND) 7-5, 6-3
No. 4: *Nina Kamp (WM) d. Kristina Stastny (ND) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
No. 5: Sarah Jane Connelly (ND) d. Lena Sherbakov (WM) 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1
No. 6: #114 Amy Wei (WM) d. Lauren Connelly (ND) 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 3, 2, 5, 4*
Doubles
No. 1: #15 Boomershine/Fuchs (WM) d. #27 Cunha/Stastny (ND) 8-4
No. 2: L. Connelly/Salas (ND) d. Muth/Sherbakov (WM) 8-2
No. 3: *Leslie/Jennifer Smith (ND) d. Kari Olsen/Lingda Yang (WM) 8-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1