March 31, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 13th-ranked Notre Dame women’s tennis team won four of six singles matches and dropped just seven games in sweeping the doubles for a 7-2 win over 62nd-ranked Illinois on Wednesday. Irish senior All-American Jennifer Hall won her school-record 108th career singles match, breaking a 13 year-old record set by Mary Colligan from 1982-86. Freshman Lindsey Green and junior Kelly Zalinski clinched the match for the Irish with their 8-1 win over Allison Gottlieb and Natalia Manasova at No. 3 doubles. Notre Dame improves to 13-6 with its 16th consecutive win over a Midwest region opponent. Illinois falls to 6-9 with the loss.
Becky Varnum, Michelle Dasso and Jennifer Hall gave the Irish a quick 3-0 lead in the match with straight-set singles wins. The 56th-ranked Varnum beat Carla Rosenburg 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 singles followed by the eighth-ranked Dasso’s 6-2, 6-3 win over Simone Kung at No. 1 singles. Hall won her record-setting match at No. 2 singles as she beat Stacy Schapiro 6-4, 6-4.
Megan Wise gave Illinois its first point when she beat Kelly Zalinski 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 at No. 5 singles. Irish freshman Lindsey Green then rallied to beat Natalia Manasova 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6 singles as Notre Dame led 4-1. Brooke Ferney kept Illinois alive with a three-hour win at No. 3 singles over Marisa Velasco 7-6 (10-8), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) after Velasco served for the match at both 5-4 and 6-5 in the third set.
Needing one doubles point to clinch the match, the Irish dropped a combined seven games in a sweep of the doubles. After Green and Zalinski won 8-1, the eighth-ranked Irish team of Dasso and Hall beat 44th-ranked Ferney and Rosenberg 8-2 at No. 1 doubles. Varnum and Velasco closed out the match by winning five straight games for an 8-4 win over Kung and Schapiro at No. 2 doubles.
Singles matches were played outdoors at the Courtney Tennis Center, while doubles was moved inside to the Eck Tennis Pavilion due to darkness. The Irish return to action with a pair of matches against Purdue and Illinois State on Sat., April 3, at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
#13 NOTRE DAME 7, #62 ILLINOIS 2
Singles
No. 1: #8 Michelle Dasso (ND) def. Simone Kung (IL) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2: #61 Jennifer Hall (ND) def. Stacy Schapiro (IL) 6-4, 6-4
No. 3: Brooke Ferney (IL) def. Marisa Velasco (ND) 7-6 (8), 4-6, 7-6 (4)
No. 4: #56 Becky Varnum (ND) def. Carla Rosenberg (IL) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5: Megan Wise (IL) def. Kelly Zalinski (ND) 7-6 (3), 6-2
No. 6: Lindsey Green (ND) def. Natalia Manasova (IL) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1: #8 Dasso/Hall (ND) def. #44 Ferney/Rosenberg (IL) 8-2
No. 2: Varnum/Velasco (ND) def. Kung/Schapiro (IL) 8-4
No. 3: Green/Zalinski (ND) def. Allison Gottlieb/Manasova (IL) 8-1